"It's real," Elizabeth whispered.
"You actually were telling the truth," Norrington said in surprise, a small smile on his face.
"I do that quite a lot," Jack said, a bit miffed. "Yet people are always surprised."
"With good reason."
They all looked up in surprise to see a soaking wet Will Turner standing there.
"Will!" Elizabeth said breathlessly and ran to him. "You're all right! Thank God! I came to find you!" She wrapped her arms around Will, and he kissed her lovingly. As Norrington looked away from the scene, Alice looked at Jack who looked back at her in nervous annoyance.
"How did you get here?" Jack asked suddenly.
"Sea turtles, mate," he replied smirking. "A pair of them. Strapped to my feet."
Alice and Norrington looked at each other in confusion.
"Not so easy, is it?" Jack smiled.
"But I do owe you thanks, Jack," he said.
"You do?" Jack asked.
"After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones..." he paused.
"What?" Elizabeth asked, glaring furiously at Jack.
"What?" Jack replied innocently looking around at Norrington and Alice.
"...I was reunited with my father," Will finished.
"Oh. Well, you're welcome, then," Jack smiled.
Elizabeth stomped over to Jack, livid.
"Everything you said to me... Every word was a lie," she said.
"Pretty much," Jack grinned. "Time and tide, love."
"And you," she turned on Alice. "You knew, and yet you told me nothing!" Alice opened her mouth to respond, but was distracted by Jack.
"Oi! What are you doing?" he asked Will, who had pulled out a knife in one hand, a key in the other, and was kneeling in front of the chest, rotating it toward himself.
"I'm going to kill Jones," he replied matter-of-factly. Jack drew his sword immediately, putting it to Will's throat.
"Can't let you do that, William." Will turned to look at Jack. "'Cause, if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, eh?" Everyone was quiet at that, considering Jack's words. "Now, if you please. The key," Jack said with his hand out toward Will.
As Will stepped toward Jack slowly, he passed in front of Elizabeth. In a flash, he grabbed the sword from her scabbard, pointing it at Jack. Alice grabbed Elizabeth's wrist in surprise.
"I keep the promises I make, Jack," he said. "I intend to free my father. I hope you're there to see it."
"I can't let you do that, either," Norrington interjected, drawing his sword on Will. Elizabeth jumped, and Alice gasped. "So sorry."
"I knew you'd warm up to me eventually," Jack smirked, taking a step toward him. Norrington's sword immediately switched from Will to Jack.
"Lord Beckett desires the content of that chest," Norrington said in a low menacing voice. "I deliver it, I get my life back."
"What?!" Alice yelled incredulously.
"Ah, the dark side of ambition," Jack grinned.
"Oh, I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption," Norrington smiled coldly.
"How could you?!" Alice yelled. "You're making a mistake!"
"Am I?" He glowered at her. "What, did you think that just because we fucked a couple of times I would give up my allegiances? Was that it?" Alice stared at him aghast as he smirked at her. "You were an easy fuck. A good one, but that's all you were." His words cut Alice like a knife, and she intended to do the same to him. She grabbed for her dagger, but quickly realized she did not have it on her.
"I thought you were a better person than this," Elizabeth spat. He glowered at her.
"I am the better person here. I intend to return to my duties and eradicate piracy once and for all."
Jack and Will swung their swords at him suddenly, and a melee broke out.
"Stop it!" Elizabeth screamed, but they ignored her. Shaking with hurt and rage, Alice was looking around for a weapon. Elizabeth grabbed her arm.
"You... and him?!" Alice stared at her in surprise before her expression turned angry again.
"What does it matter?" Now Elizabeth stared at her in surprise, mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
"Will!" She suddenly gasped as he was knocked down.
"Mind the chest," he said to Elizabeth as he got to his feet and chased off after Jack and Norrington, who had run out toward the sandbar, swords clashing.
"No!" Both women yelled in unison, taking off after them.
"This is barbaric!" Elizabeth screamed. "This is not how grown men-" Her diatribe continued on, but Alice was much too busy with some screaming of her own.
"James Norrington, you fucking asshole!" Alice screamed at the same time. "You know damn well I was more than just a fuck! I probably know more about you than anyone!" Her voice switched to a mocking tone. "'My life is so hard! I have to get maaaaaaried! This is the worst thing everrrrr!' You know what? Fuck you! I hope Beckett double-crosses you! You're going to die sad and alone, and it's going to be all. Your. FAULT!"
Alice's breathing was ragged as the rage consumed her. At the same moment, she and Elizabeth began picking up anything they could find - shells, rocks, bits of driftwood - and started hucking them at the fighting men.
"I hate you!" Alice yelled.
"This is madness!" Elizabeth screamed, still tossing debris.
"You'll deserve what happens to you! You TRAITOR!" Alice shouted after tossing one final rock in their direction.
"ENOUGH!" Elizabeth yelled, at them and at her. Alice snapped her jaw shut, her chest heaving. When the men didn't stop, Elizabeth tried being dramatic. "Oh. Oh! The heat!" she said loudly and pretended to faint. They still ignored her.
"Stop that," Alice hissed. Just then something caught her eye: Pintel and Ragetti were running off toward the jungle carrying the chest, Paul close behind yelling at them. "HEY!" She sprinted off after them.
As they ducked into the trees, Alice could hear Elizabeth behind her.
"This way!" she called out. "We can go around there and cut them off!"
Alice turned and followed the direction the other girl was taking. They made good headway, running out in time to block the path. Pintel and Ragetti stopped - Paul nearly running into them - and looked at the girls with concern. Elizabeth smiled and reached for her sword... forgetting that Will had taken it. Their faces took on menacing grins as they dropped the chest, and began advancing on Elizabeth. Before Alice could react, everyone paused as something came crashing through the jungle.
A giant mill wheel rolled past; Will and Norrington were running along the top, still dueling, and Jack was chasing after it. They watched it go off into the trees with some bewilderment before the two men resumed their previous advancement, drawing their swords. Paul nudged Alice and gestured to the chest. She nodded, and together they moved toward it.
They all once again stopped in their tracks, but this time for a much more sinister reason: Davy Jones' men were on the island and coming right for them. Alice grabbed Paul, and they immediately turned and ran. She glanced behind after a moment and saw Pintel and Ragetti following them with the chest, and Elizabeth bringing up the rear, now dual-wielding swords. The dense ground cover offered many obstacles, but they had thankfully avoided them thus far as they scrambled through.
Elizabeth's scream made Alice turn around in time to see Pintel and Ragetti run on either side of a tree, knocking the chest out of their hands. They paused only for a fraction of a second, but that was all it took for Jones' men to reach them. Elizabeth held up the crossed swords, blocking the strike aimed at her from the mutated attacker. She shoved him off, knocking him back into the other men, and they resumed running. Alice could hear the monsters catch back up with them, as sword-fighting broke out. Since neither she nor Paul were armed, they continued running, glancing behind frequently.
Knowing they needed to go back the other way, they made an arc back toward where they had entered the jungle, and broke free of the trees. At the same time, a short ways down the tree line, the mill wheel came crashing through. It took out several of Jones' men who were fighting Elizabeth, and travelled some ways before it slowed to a halt, falling over. Will and Norrington emerged, both too dizzy to walk properly, but trying anyway. Paul and Alice tried to head for the boat, where Jack was fighting off one of the monsters using an oar for a weapon, but they had to dodge the attackers who were swinging axes, swords, maces, and other weapons at them. Paul narrowly missed being hit with a club covered in shark teeth, and Alice shoved the creature down so they could resume running.
Norrington had reached the boat before them, but took off as Pintel and Ragetti got there. After setting the chest inside, the two pirates began pushing the boat out, only to be stopped by Will. As Alice and Paul approached, the two men had grabbed an oar and a net, and they were taunting Will. Alice turned to see the fight encroaching upon them as everyone was now almost to the boat.
"Leave him lie!" she heard Jack say, and turned to see Will slumped over the side of the boat, knocked out. "Unless you plan on using him to hit something with."
"We're not getting out of this," Elizabeth said fearfully, the monsters surrounding them.
"Not with the chest," Norrington said. "Into the boat." He reached in and grabbed the chest.
"Wha-" Alice started, reaching out toward him, but Norrington cut her off.
"I'm sorry," he said to her quickly.
"You're mad!" Elizabeth said.
"Don't wait for me," he replied to her, and then took off running through the middle of the Dutchman crew, his sword clashing with their weapons as he drew them away. Alice and Elizabeth stared after him in shock and frustration.
"I say we respect his final wish," Jack said brightly.
"Aye!" shouted Pintel, and they all clambered into the boat.
All of Alice's earlier anger was gone, replaced with fear, sadness, confusion and surprise as she watched Norrington shrinking in the distance. She turned to Elizabeth who was also watching him, and the other girl looked at her. They held each others' gaze for a long moment, nonverbally communicating their shared feelings as the boat headed out into deeper water, everyone aboard it silent.