Hey guys! Okay, I have NO excuse for why this took so long. I apologize a hundred times. Hope you enjoy this next chapter. And sorry again for taking so long!

Davy Jones' Chest

It had only taken a couple more awkward minutes to make it to the island, and by the time they got there, Jack was still solemn and not paying any attention to Amanda. She stared at him curiously the whole way there. Why was he acting this way? He had no reason to. For all she knew, he was the one that wanted to avoid any uncomfortable arguments with her. It almost made her angry to see him this way. But then she saw Tom walk his way toward her once they got off their separate dinghies. A smile crossed her face at once.

"Nice trip?" He was watching Jack's retreating back.

"You noticed as well?" Amanda asked disappointedly.

Tom shrugged his shoulders, grabbing his sword from the bench. "I can't say that I'm much surprised."

She looked at him in interest. "Why do you say that?"

Before he could answer, Jack boomed out an order. "Only three come wiv me!"

Tom and Amanda's heads snapped in his direction.

He was standing before the beach, the waves gently lapping at his feet, a shovel hoisted over his shoulder. The charcoal that lined his eyes was slightly running from the heat and his dreadlocks were looking more untidy than usual. His sleeves were pushed up, exposing his bare arms. Everything about him looked strained, an emotion that was never usually compared with Jack. He was always laid back, never concerned about anything, but this new change on the ship had made him a completely different person.

"I want Elizabeth, Norrington, and Margaret to come wiv me!"

Amanda's eyes widened.

Jack turned away without even looking back and started walking over the sand dunes. Elizabeth and Norrington moved at once, but Amanda stayed in her place.

"Why so still? Make your way with him," Tom ordered, gently pushing her forward.

"Why does he want me?" Amanda asked in shock.

Tom snorted and she saw that he had that same unconvinced look on his face. "As I said before, I can't say that I'm much surprised."

"What do you mean by that?"

He turned toward her, his eyes narrowing against the sun's light. "Do you really think Jack wants the two of us to be alone?"

Amanda's brow furrowed.

"Margaret!" Jack bellowed in his hoarse voice.

"Aye!" Amanda yelled over her shoulder. She looked back at Tom, still looking skeptical.

His sharp eyes rounded and he gave a short laugh. "Make no fuss over it, Margaret; we'll speak of it later. Listen to your captain at the moment."

She gave a small smile and made her way out of the waves to follow Jack.

"Margaret!" Tom called once more.

She turned much too eagerly. At once, she hoped it was not too obvious the effect he had on her.

But his smile was warming and he looked just as pleased to see her gaze upon him. His eyes sparkled in the sunlight, his hair shone as brightly as the sea surrounding him. All she desired to was to run to him and jump in his arms.

"Please be careful," he said quietly.

Amanda smiled once more, turned, and followed Elizabeth and Norrington up the sand dunes. Jack had already made his way over and was practically running down the small hills.

She couldn't help but still feel curious as to why Jack had asked her to come. There had to be a specific reason and she was almost positive it wasn't the one Tom had suspected.

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The walk had been much longer than she had expected. It was nearly twenty minutes later and sweat was pouring alongside Amanda's face. It didn't help that the supposed "light" dress she had on was bunching in all of the wrong places, causing her to feel itchy and scratched up. They crossed through many tide pools and now Amanda's slippers were soaking wet, adding more weight to her walking. Jack, of course, was in the front, acting as though nothing was going wrong. She cursed him for looking perfect. She was sure she looked like a wet dog.

Finally, they crossed a couple more hills of sand dunes, and it looked as if Jack wanted to stop. Amanda looked over her shoulder and saw that the other members of the crew looked like mere ants from this distance. She could actually make out Tom from where she was standing. His figure was blurred from the heated mirage but it almost looked like he was facing her, as if he was watching over their small group.

Elizabeth was holding the compass now. She walked through the group, leading in front, holding it before her to see where this chest could be. Amanda was pleased to see that she wasn't looking at appealing as she was before: her long hair was plastered to her face, her eye makeup was running, and dirt was beginning to cake itself onto her skin. A dark smile played at the corner of Amanda's lips. "And she's still wearing men's clothes."

Elizabeth looked concerned, almost perplexed, as to the direction the compass was facing. She stopped, turned slightly to the right, to the left, and then back to the right again. She looked over her left shoulder for a second, but then turned straight again. Amanda couldn't understand how difficult this could be. She sighed impatiently.

"What's the delay for?" she asked rudely. She couldn't help it if she was cranky. She internally blamed it on the sun.

Elizabeth huffed angrily and sat down on the sand in a dramatic plop. "This doesn't work!" she cried out. Jack and Norrington looked towards her. "And it certainly doesn't show you what you want most." The compass fell from her hands and landed softly on the sand beside her.

Amanda rolled her eyes and Norrington smiled. However, Jack made his way towards her, his arms raised up high. They always got like that when Jack was eager about something. When he was above the compass, he looked down at it in determined concentration. "Yes it does. You're sitting on it," he muttered.

"Beg pardon?" Elizabeth asked, looking up at him. Her eyes were wide in surprise.

Jack fluttered his arms. "Move." He whistled, encouraging Elizabeth to shoot up from her place. "Come on," he ordered. She moved to the side beside Norrington and Jack gave him a significant glance.

Norrington rolled his eyes and walked toward the place Jack was pointing at. Without hesitation, he plunged the tip of the shovel into the sand and began to dig as quickly as he could.

The minutes passed by in a strange dimension. Elizabeth was standing by herself, her arms crossed. She was staring at the process with dark eyes, looking more and more distraught each time Norrington plunged his blade into the sand. Jack was sitting beside Norrington, in a meditation pose. His eyes were closed, his hair blowing in the wind, and his legs were folded upon one another. Amanda wondered what he was thinking of. She was standing on the other side of Norrington, looking over his shoulder. This mystery had gone on long enough and she dying to know what could be hidden underneath all of this sand. Sweat was dripping from Norrington's long strands of hair and the tip of his nose. He paid no attention to it though; all he cared about was the mission at hand.

The atmosphere was thick with tension. This was the moment of truth. The second that Norrington's shovel pressed against whatever chest laid underneath the island, all of Jack's realizations and dreams would come true. It had seemed so long ago that Jack had snuck into the jail of hell to find the drawing of Davy Jones' key. Now, they were waiting to find this object that was haunting every second of their days. Amanda bit her lip nervously, still looking out at the mirage that was the Black Pearl crew.

Thud.

Many things happened at once: Norrington stopped suddenly, loosening his grip on the shovel; Elizabeth's head snapped to Jack; Jack's eyes flew open in one sharp movement; Amanda looked to Norrington.

At the same time, all four of them made their way over the wide hole. They all slowly bent their heads over the dark enclosed space, looking upon the object below.

"Well, go on! Hoist it up!" Jack ordered.

Norrington and Elizabeth didn't even have to jump in. They bent as low as they could, grabbed each side of the chest, and heaved as best as they could. It slid out of its burrow from the sand and bumped and grinded its way against the side of the hole.

"Move," Jack said as soon as it was out.

The chest was dropped, Norrington and Elizabeth scurried out of the way, and Jack bust the lock open with the blade of the shovel.

"Go on, Jack," Amanda breathed. She could feel her heart beating against her chest.

Jack stared at her for a second and she couldn't help but lock her eyes onto him. A significant gust of wind blew through the small circle and swept every lock of her hair across her face. Through the strands of dark hair, she saw Jack was gazing at her intently, almost as if she were the contents of the chest. His dark, round eyes were the same as ever. It had been so long since she had looked into them. Too long, she hated to admit.

The wind blew against her hair again, and when it had passed by them in a rush, Jack was looking down at the chest once more. Amanda felt her heart sink ever so slightly.

And then, it was open. The four of them stared at the dark cavern within, taking every scrap and piece of the treasure they had been searching for. Jack's hands lightly caressed over the dark wood that lay entrapped inside. His eyes were bright, yet he had a bit of an astounded look on his face, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Amanda had no reaction to the sight before her.

There were piles and piles of cards: cards with hearts, stars, and curvy signatures written against the yellow parchment. The envelopes were all coated with dust and sand, mixing together in a strange texture that they all brushed between their fingers. Amanda realized at once that they were love letters. She hovered more over the chest, looking deeper inside. Everyone was still managing to be silent. There were no words to be said. Amanda couldn't tell if they were in awe, like her, or if they were too exhausted to speak what they were feeling. Either way, the only noise was the hollow wind scratching against the papers of these long lost lovers' letters.

Elizabeth picked up a long scroll from the left side of the chest. She looked at it curiously, her dark eyes narrowed. Amanda thumbed a particular necklace that held an iron heart with a strange carving of a face etched into it.

Suddenly, the hearts of all four of them unknowingly sped up when Jack reached deeper into the letters and insignificant love trinkets, and pulled out a smaller chest. Elizabeth's scroll drooped minimally in her hands and the necklace Amanda was holding slid between her fingers to land with the other jewelry.

Jack held the chest before him, staring emotionlessly at the intricate details and carvings of the bands and designs. The chest was not wooden, but a strange sort of metal. Amanda realized that it would be much too difficult to destroy.

Without any suggestion, the four of them synchronically bent their heads down towards the chest resting in Jack's hands. Amanda leaned her left ear towards it, trying to silence everything else surrounding her.

It only took a second.

The sound of a heart beat reverberated from within the chest, much louder than Amanda had expected.

All their heads shot up in disbelief, yet their eyes still remained glued upon the chest before them.

"It's real," Elizabeth breathed.

Norrington looked at Jack with amusement outlining his lips. "You actually were telling the truth."

"I do that quite a lot, yet people are always surprised," Jack admitted, turning his head towards Norrington.

Amanda snorted under her breath.

"With good reason!" a voice from behind them shouted.

They all looked behind them to see the intruder, and all at once, their mouths dropped. Elizabeth flew up from where she was kneeling, practically shaking. "Will!" she cried out quietly. Amanda could hear the tears in her voice.

And there he was: William Turner. His dark hair was dripping upon the pirate clothing he had become so accustomed to. He was out of breath, clearly from swimming, because it seemed impossible for a man to sweat through all of his layers. He stood before the hill, looking more impressive than ever. He had gotten stronger, yet his stature showed that he was exhausted and worn. When he heard Elizabeth scream, his brown eyes lit up and his arms raised to beckon her to him.

She ran to him without any hesitation. It almost looked comical the way her arms flew about her and the sand rose up from her boots to hit against her backside. Amanda stared at the way her face was flushed and how every part of her was being pulled towards Will. She watched as she cried out to him, her voice absolutely breathless. "You're all right! Thank God!" She reached him and threw her arms over his shoulders. "I came to find you!"

They each took a second to stare at one another full on in the face. Will smiled then, brightly, clearly taken in holding her once again. Elizabeth bit her lip, still holding back the joyous tears that were filling in her eyes.

Will pressed his lips against her passionately and Elizabeth grabbed the back of his head. They stood against one another, not paying any attention to the audience.

Amanda looked down at her feet, letting them have their moment. Sure, she may not have been the greatest of friends with Elizabeth, but as she had once experienced, it was very uncomfortable to know that everyone was watching you when you were kissing the man you loved.

A couple seconds later, Jack finally interrupted. "How did you get here?" he barked.

Will took his face off of Elizabeth's to look at Jack's, but he still had his arms tightly wound around her. "Sea turtles, mate. A pair of them, strapped to my feet."

"Not so easy, is it?" Jack inquired.

Will smiled grimly. "But I do owe you thanks, Jack."

Jack's smile dropped. "You do?"

"After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones…" Will now said, his voice hard as a rock. All humor had left him now.

"Uh oh," Amanda thought.

Elizabeth turned to stare at Jack, her eyes wide. "What?"

"What?" Jack mocked her, using the same exact pitch.

Will rolled his eyes. "…I was reunited with my father." He slightly pulled away from Elizabeth to say this statement more to her than to anyone else.

"Oh!" Jack cried out. "Well…you're welcome, then." He smiled bitterly at Will.

Amanda turned to stare at him in disbelief.

Elizabeth came up walking from behind her towards Jack. "Everything you said to me, every word was a lie!"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Pretty much." He shrugged apologetically. "Time and tide, love."

Will was suddenly in front of the chest with Davy Jones' heart lying inside. He was breathing heavily, his eyes dark, yet determined. He pulled out a dagger from the inside of his coat pocket and shoved it out of its protective cover. He fell onto his knees and stared hungrily at the chest.

"Oi! What are you doing?" Jack asked, walking over quickly towards Will.

Will did not bother to look up, but continued to fiddle with the lock of the chest. Amanda was astonished to see that he was holding a key in his right hand. He took a deep breath, wiped his brow, and answered, "I'm going to kill Jones."

Without any warning, Jack pulled his sword out of his belt in lightning fast speed. He pressed it against Will's left shoulder, the blade lightly touching the dirty fabric of his wet coat. Elizabeth and Amanda gasped at the same time, while Will merely looked casually over his shoulder at the sword.

"Can't let you do that, William," Jack warned under his breath. Will looked at Jack, curious now. "'Cause if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, eh?" He smirked.

There was a moment of silence as Jack continued to press his sword against Will's shoulder, his dark eyes heated and lined with anticipation. "Jack," Amanda started, "couldn't you just let h--."

"Now now now," Jack interrupted, raising his free hand to her, "let's not get too rash, shall we?" He looked back down at Will, waiting for an answer.

Will sighed, his jaw tight. Amanda could just imagine that his teeth would be grinding together, his hands clenched into cramped fists. He slowly buried the key into the palm of his right hand and, with great care, placed the chest back onto the sand.

Jack smiled in victory.

Will stood up and backed away from the chest, still holding securely onto the key. He stood next to Elizabeth, but his eyes were on Jack, full of indignation and regret.

Jack merely stepped closer, his sword still pointed at Will, and held up his left hand to him. "Now, if you please. The key," he breathed.

Elizabeth and Will's arms were now touching, and he was looking down at the sand, his face still as tight as it was before. Amanda looked over at Norrington and saw that he was staring at Will with a look of determination. She frowned, puzzled at him for a moment, but then looked back at Elizabeth and Will.

Carefully, yet stealthily, Will reached across Elizabeth's belt and took her sword from her with unbeatable speed. He pointed it directly at Jack, his face now free from any compaction. He was smiling, sensing the change in the situation.

Again, Elizabeth and Amanda gasped. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, but then went back to the interaction between the two pirates.

"I keep the promises I make, Jack," Will said in a cold voice. He positioned himself in front of Elizabeth and started making his way towards Jack. Amanda backed away from the chest and moved beside Norrington. Will stared at Jack with that same look of indignation. "I intend to free my father. I hope you're here to see it."

And once again, with the sublime, indescribable, sharp noise a sword makes when being flung out of its belt, Norrington was now one of the three pointing his sword at somebody else. His blade was pointed at Will, and all four of the heads swung at this, completely taken with this change.

"I can't let you do that, either. So sorry." He cocked the side of his mouth up in a strange smile.

Jack grinned eagerly at this and began walking towards Norrington. "I knew you'd warm up to me eventually."

Norrington swung his blade around to point it at Jack. Jack stopped short, his eyes wide with surprise. The three of them were now in a deadly triangle, each threatening the other's life with the point of their sword. Jack looked between Norrington and Will for a second, his forehead creased with lines. Amanda could see the sweat beading on his forehead from where she was standing. He pointed his sword back at Will, his eyes still moving back and forth.

Norrington explained, "Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest. I deliver it, I get my life back." His blade shuddered ever so slightly.

"Ah," Jack said in realization. "The dark side of ambition."

Norrington smiled darkly. "Oh, I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption."

All their smiles fell at once, and Amanda could suddenly feel the chill of the wind against her skin. Jack's hand suddenly gripped tightly around the handle of his sword. She watched as he bit his lower lip, what he always did when fighting in sword combat.

"Aargh!" they all three yelled out at once.

Norrington swung for Will; he rebuffed the blow, shook him off, and then clanged against Jack's sword.

Elizabeth screamed and fell back from them. Amanda could feel the wind of Norrington's blade against the cloth of her stomach. She gasped in fright, and in trying to run back from the fight as far away as she could, tripped over the skirt of her dress, and landed on her back, in opposition to the sand. She gave a great exhale of breath and felt all the wind get knocked out of her.

She looked up quickly, however, to see what was happening in the fight. Will hit blades with Norrington and then soared in between he and Jack to jump forward and start running across the sand. Jack and Norrington hit blades, looked over at Will, and then shoved away from each other to chase after him.

"Stop it!" Elizabeth shrieked.

Amanda couldn't say anything; the wind was still knocked out of her.

The three of them soon met up again. "Hyah!" Jack cried out, swinging a low swing onto Will's sword. He bent down as Norrington and Will's blades hit over his head. As he was crouched down, he reached forward into Will's coat, grabbed the key that were hanging from his belt, and ran forward.

Norrington elbowed Will in the chest and Will fell back into the sand. Norrington pursued after Jack, keeping close behind him.

"Will!" Elizabeth cried out in worry. She knelt behind him, holding onto his shoulders.

"Guard the chest," Will ordered, and then he took off after Norrington and Jack.

Elizabeth sat there for a second, staring at the three men. And then she pouted. "No!" She sprung up from where she was sitting and took after them.

Amanda groaned as the shrieking of Elizabeth kept up. She tried to drown her out, but it was like trying to drown out a dying seagull.

"This is pathetic! This is no way for grown men to…Oh, fine!" she yelled at a new high pitch. Amanda rolled her eyes and slowly started to get up from where she was still lying. "Let's just, haul out our swords and start banging away at each other. That will solve everything! I've had it!"

At this point, Amanda was up. She banged her fist against her chest, gave a loud cough, and started to casually follow after Elizabeth. Amazingly, she was still yelling. Amanda looked at the sand and had to bury the desire of shoving it into her mouth. However, she ignored it and watched as the three men got further and further down the beach. At this point, she could not tell who was winning.

"I've had it with wobbly-legged, rum-soaked pirates!" Elizabeth bellowed at the top of her lungs. She said it with a sort of formal finality, so Amanda assumed she was finished. She walked up to stand besides her, staring emotionlessly at the fight.

"There's nothing to be done," she said quietly. Elizabeth looked at her, seeming shocked. She was still breathing quite heavily from her rant and now sand was gathered in the long strands of her hair. "Well, do you really think you can stop them? Look at them," she said, pointing at the three men.

Elizabeth looked ahead, her shoulders rising and falling with her breaths. She slowly started to shake her head, pressing her teeth together. "I can't believe this is happening," she muttered. "I have come all this way to bring Will back home and now I find out that he has a new mission at hand. Ugh!" she finally groaned.

Amanda did all she could to not roll her eyes.

"There has to be something that we could do," Elizabeth persisted. "I can't stand this anymore!"

Amanda shrugged her shoulders. "You could always pretend to faint. That once stopped an execution from happening."

Elizabeth began to smile, but then suddenly got serious. She looked at Amanda with bright eyes, a coy look on her face.

"I wasn't serious," Amanda said.

"But that's a brilliant idea! Here, stand aside! Let's see if it works."

Amanda stepped back a couple of steps to watch this. She had a feeling it was going to be pretty amusing. Once more, she looked at Will, Jack, and Norrington. There was no way they could ever notice anything outside of the fight at the moment. So, Elizabeth was basically Amanda's form of entertainment at the current time.

Elizabeth dusted the sand from her front, pushed back her hair, and dramatically raised her hand in the air. Amanda saw that she pushed her lips forward and gave an uplift look to her face. "Oh! Ohhhhh!" she cried out over the clanging. The men did not look back. "The heat!" she called out before she came tumbling to the ground.

Amanda pressed her fist against her lips so as not to let out a laugh. The men had not paid any attention to her fainting. They were continuing to bang their swords against one another.

Elizabeth fumed, sat up from where she was lying, and crossed her legs in a heated fury. "Bloody pirates," she muttered to herself.

"Well, it worked once before." Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at her. "And it was much more important in the occasion it worked."

Elizabeth turned her head back forward. "That's true. And at least I tried."

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps on sand came up from behind them. Amanda turned in defense, her hand on the handle of her sword. But the two men were running perpendicular from them. Amanda realized that it was Pintel and Ragetti. She smiled in relief. "Pintel…Ragetti…what are you t--?"

They ran right past her, their faces turning red. Their speed increased and they took off across the sand to start sprinting towards the woods ahead.

She frowned in confusion, but then looked at what they were both holding in between them. It was not hard to see the intricate carvings of Jones' chest swinging through the salty air. Realization hit Amanda with a hard blow. They were stealing the chest.

Elizabeth had clearly seen because she stood up and started to chase after the two of them.

"Wait!" Amanda cried out. "What are you doing? We can't stop them either!"

"Stay here!" Elizabeth called over her shoulder. "Go back to the boats. Get them ready to head back to the ship!"