A/N: So hey guys here is the next chapter of the fic. It's extremely long and it took me a while to write so I hope you like it!
I am dedicating this chapter to my good friend Stephanie (leiaamidala on tumblr). She is my biggest supporter for this fic and I just love her so much so Steph this is for you!
They spent the next year and half sailing the seas, searching for someone willing to take on Davey Jones, but with no luck. They were running out of places to look.
Ariel leaned against the railing, looking out into the ocean. On the horizon she could see the small island they were approaching; Tortuga. She had heard about this place, where sailors from all over the lands came to drink and have fun.
They reached land in a few minutes, the anchor falling down to the bottom of the ocean to secure their place in the port. The gangplank was rolled out and the crew got out, hooting and hollering, but none of those knowing there true purpose for being here.
Ariel remained standing where she was. She let out a small breath as she looked ahead. She watched as the men left the ship, smiling and laughing, ready to just relax and have a good time. She envied them, all of them. They didn't know what was going on, they didn't know that their Captain had been marked by Davey Jones, and that in eight years he would be gone, forever. But they didn't have to worry about that. They didn't have to carry that burden that Killian was carrying, knowing that one day everything he loves will be taken from him. Ariel couldn't bear it, counting down the days till it would happen.
Killian had told her not to worry, not to let it consume her thoughts, not to let it take over, but she couldn't help it. The man she loved essentially had a death sentence, and no matter how hard she tried or what she did, with every passing failure, she came to realize more and more that perhaps there truly was nothing she could do to stop it. But she wouldn't give up, she couldn't.
-X-
Killian looked down at Ariel from the helm of the ship. She was staring out onto the island. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts. He let out a small sigh, knowing what she was thinking, because he was thinking the same thing, their time was running out. He wanted to be strong, he didn't want to let this consume him or Ariel for that matter, but there was no escaping fate.
Perhaps he should just leave her somewhere, let her go back to her family. The thought had crossed his mind several times. Of course he couldn't live without her, but he didn't want to spend the next eight years counting down the days till his father would be back for him. Perhaps it would be best for the both of them if he just let her go back to her family. He was cut off from his thoughts when he heard Ariel calling him.
"Killian? Come on, let's go" she said, waiting for him by the stairs. He nodded in agreement and walked down the stairs. He looked at Ariel's face before they left, examining it. He saw a deep sadness in her eyes, black circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep. She hadn't been getting much sleep because of the nightmares, or visions, they weren't sure exactly what they were.
All he knew is that she would wake up in the middle of night screaming, calling out Killian's name to make sure that he was still there with her. And all he knew was that he hated it. He hated the fact that she couldn't even sleep, neither of them could really. He had been having nightmares of his own, but were his are just that, nightmares, hers are much more significant. They already knew she had powers, and they knew that her dreams were not just dreams, but visions, a window into the future. They might not be exactly accurate, but they knew that it was still something that would happen.
They walked into the tavern, the crew already having made themselves comfortable, many with a beer in their hand and a wench on their lap. Killian and Ariel sat at an empty table towards the back of the tavern.
Ariel just stared at the table, not wanting to make eye contact with Killian. If she did she was afraid she would just start to cry and she didn't want to do that. She needed to be strong, for him.
Killian noticed Ariel's body tense. He ordered two beers and put his hand on hers, taking her away from her thoughts. She trembled at his touch, slowly drawing up her eyes to meet his.
"Hey" he said, smiling softly at her. "It's going to be all right." He squeezed her hand reassuringly, but he could see that Ariel was still worried.
He opened his mouth to say something before he was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Oi looks who's here. Captain Jones and his lovely mermaid friend" said the voice approaching them.
It was Jack Sparrow. He walked over to them, pulling up a chair from a nearby table and sat next to Ariel.
"Sparrow, nice of you to join us" said Killian. "What can I do for you."
"Oh no mate I think I should be the one asking you that" said Sparrow, pointing his finger at Killian. "I heard of your….predicament, and I think I can help."
Killian raised his eyebrow a bit concerned but also curious to see what Sparrow had to say. Ariel's attention shifted to Sparrow, her eyes focusing on her face, a little glimmer of hope shining in her eyes.
"What do you know?" asked Ariel, in a soft but demanding tone.
"Well love I know that your deal Captain over here has about eight years before little old daddy comes to get him, thus separating you two love birds for all eternity" he said, raising his eyebrows and taking a swig of his rum.
Ariel rolled her eyes and leaned back on her chair. Sparrow wasn't helping at all.
"I also know that the only way to stop this is to kill him. So I propose this. We go on his ship, stab the heart, I become the new Davey Jones, allowing me to sail the seas for the rest of eternity, and you two get to live happily ever after. Savy?"
Ariel and Killian shared a confused look as they contemplated Sparrow's proposal.
Sparrow squinted his eyes at the two of them, waiting to see what they would say. Since they remained silent he said "Come on guys! I am giving you a solution to your little predicament here. All of you have to do is take it."
"And how do you know all this Sparrow?" asked Ariel, not fully convinced.
"Let's just say that Davey Jones and I have had our various encounters and well…. I am not a fan" he said with a motion of his hand.
"You know Sparrow you don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to trust" said Killian, giving him a stern look.
"I'm a pirate mate, what do you expect? You of all people should understand" he said smiling. "Look, nothing would please me more than to see Jones in the bottom of his own bloody locker. And frankly I like the idea of sailing the seas for the rest of eternity, to have my name stand for all of time. 'Captain Jack Sparrow, King of the Seas'" he said, looking up, gesturing with his hands as he got lost in his own fantasy land.
Ariel looked at him curiously, wondering what he was thinking. Killian on the other hand was getting impatient. He snapped his fingers in front of Jack's face to get his attention.
"Huh? Oh yes. Tell you what, I'll give you some time to think about my very generous offer. Cheers mate" he said as he got up, rum in hand and walked off.
Killian sighed, leaning back against his chair, folding his arms across his chest. Ariel immediately looked over at him, waiting for him to say something.
"Well? What do you think we should do?" she asked softly.
"I'm not sure Ariel. On the one hand, this is the closest we have gotten to find a solution, but on the other I don't trust Sparrow, and neither should you. Besides how are we even going to get on his ship? You cannot board the Flying Dutchman unless you are dead, or you're dying."
"Then we'll find someone who is dying" said Ariel frantically.
"Love, it's not that simple. They need to be sailors, in the ocean, since my father cannot step on land but once every ten years" he said.
"Then we'll get my father to help, he must know something. He can help us" she said excitedly.
"Ariel" he began, but Ariel cut him off. "Killian my father can help. He is Triton, he is the King of the Seas, he must know something that can help us. I'll go there tonight, ask him and he'll help us."
"You mean swim all the way back to your home? But Ariel that's miles away, it will take you days" he said a bit worried.
"Well from here it should take me about a day and a half. I'm a fast swimmer. I'll go there tonight, you stay here with your crew, and I'll be back before you know it."
"I'm not sure Ariel. What if something happens to you?"
"Killian please, you have to trust me" she said, taking his hand, and holding it.
He looked into Ariel's eyes, which had been filled with sadness for so long. But now it is as if they had been reborn. They were shining a bright blue-green, hope renewed into her heart and soul. This might be the only chance they would get, Killian thought. They had to take it. "All right, tonight then" he said, smiling at her.
Ariel smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever. Her smile was vibrant and alive, lighting up the room. "Don't worry Killy, we'll get out of this" she said, laughing at her ridiculous nickname for him.
Killian couldn't help but laugh as well. He wasn't very fond of that nickname, but if it made her happy, he didn't care. He placed his hand on her cheek, gently stroking his thumb over her soft skin. He then leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
Just as they pulled away Killian felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see who it was. It was a tall man, with sandy blonde hair and deep brown eyes. He had a beer in one hand and asked "How much for the wench?"
"Excuse me?" asked Killian, in a bit of a menacing tone.
"The cute red-head you were just kissing. How much for a night of her services?" asked the man, hiccupping after he said his finals words.
"She is not a wench" Killian said slowly, rising from his chair.
"Ah so then you won't mind if I just-" he said as he took Ariel by the arm and started to drag her.
Killian went to stand in front of Ariel, blocking the man. "I suggest you go somewhere else to satisfy your needs mate."
"Aww come on just a few minutes, surely you can live without her for that period of time?" he said, starting to get impatient.
"Come on Ariel we're leaving" he said, taking Ariel by the hand, moving to walk past the man, but he quickly stepped in front of them, blocking their path. "Get out of our way" said Killian angrily.
"Not until you let me have the girl" said the other man, equally matching Killian's angry tone. Killian moved to the other side to try and walk past the man, half-expecting him to block their way again. But instead the man punched Killian right in the jaw, sending him back, Ariel grabbing his back to stop him from falling.
Blood fell from Killian's lower lip. He took his arm and wiped it off, anger and fury burning in his eyes.
"Come on then" said the man, putting his fists up.
"Killian no" said Ariel, but it was too late. Killian stepped forward and punched the man right in the nose, causing him to take a few steps back.
The man, furious, ran towards Killian. He lifted him up and slammed him against the wall. Soon the whole tavern erupted into a violent frenzy. The man started to punch Killian in the gut. Killian kneened him in the groin and punched him in the ribs. The other man pulled his arm back, ready to punch Killian in the face once again, but Ariel stepped in before he could hit him, her mouth open, wanting to scream STOP, but instead the fist hit her under her right eye, sending her flying back, her back hitting Killian.
Killian watched as Ariel fell against him. He gently pushed her aside and ran towards the other man, hitting him in the gut once more. Ariel got up and tried to grab Killian to pull her away, but he accidently hit her with his elbow, pushing her away once again. The two men kept hitting each other, blood staining their clothes, bruises covering their skins.
But then the man took out a knife and stabbed Killian in his lower abdomen. Ariel screamed as Killian fell to his knees. The man took the knife out and watched as Killian sunk to the ground. As Ariel ran towards Killian, the man grabbed her by the arm and started to drag her away.
"Let me go" she screamed, trying to pry his hand off her arm, but with little success. She bit his arm, and as the man screamed she raised her fist to punch him in the face, but the man saw it coming. He grabbed her fist, which was tiny compared to his large hand, and crushed her hand inside of his. Ariel could hear the sound of bones crushing. "Just for that I am going to be extra rough on you" he said, slapping her across the face.
He was about to grab her when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his chest. Ariel watched as Killian's sword tore through his flesh from the back, the end of the sword protruding from his skin, bloody. The man's mouth opened as if to say something, but instead blood gushed from it, falling down like a horrific fountain. The man fell to his knees and then collapsed into the ground.
Ariel watched, horrified, and then went to Killian. His knees started to buckle and Ariel got a hold of him before he fell again. The rest of the crew, having been fighting with others, rushed to make sure their Captain was all right.
Two of the men grabbed Killian and helped him walk back to the ship, Ariel following closely behind.
Her hand was in pain, but all she could think about was Killian, and the fact that he was losing a lot of blood.
-X-
Once on the ship, Killian was taken to his quarters, and Smith, the closest thing the crew had to a doctor, went to patch him up. Ariel followed him, but he quickly told her to wait outside.
Ariel hesitated but decided to follow his orders. She leaned against the wooden wall and sat down on the floor, holding her hand. She was sure that something had broken, since the pain was so intense.
"Are you ok Ariel?" asked Holden walking over to her and sitting next to her.
"I think my hand is broken" she said.
"Let me see" he said, gently taking her right hand, but Ariel winced at his touch. "Sorry." He examined it and finally said "yep it looks like you have a fracture. I'll be right back."
In a few minutes he was back with a strange piece of what looked like cloth to Ariel. "Here" he said. "I'll wrap this around your hand to help it heel." He took it and wrapped her hand as gently as he could. "There you go" he said when he was done. "Now try not to aggravate it or anything, its going to take time to heal."
"Thank you" she said, smiling at Holden. She then heard the door open and Smith came out.
"How is he?" Ariel asked, rising to her feet.
"He lost a lot of blood, but we patched up the wound, he'll be fine" he said, smiling at her. "You can go see him now.
Ariel thanked Smith and ran into Killian's room.
He was lying on his bed, his shirt folded up, revealing a bloodied patch covering his wound. Ariel walked over, sitting herself on the edge of the bed next to him. She placed her hand on his hair, stroking it back softly. "Hey" she said.
"Hey" he said, smiling at her.
"How are you feeling?"
"Much better now that you are here" he told her, taking her hand and kissing her palm lightly. Ariel felt a shock of energy go through her body, as her cheeks reddened. It was amazing how he still could make her blush.
Killian noticed the wrap on Ariel's other hand and quickly asked her what happened.
"It's nothing, Holden said it was just a fracture" she said softly.
Killian sighed. This shouldn't have happened. To think that bitch wanted to hurt you" he closed his eyes, biting down on his lip. He couldn't stand the thought of someone hurting Ariel.
"You killed someone Killian" she said, staring at him. He could feel her breathe speed up slightly, her eyes wandering around the room.
"Ariel I had to" he said, raising himself to a sitting position, wincing in pain. Ariel quickly put her hand on his chest and told him to lay back down. He sighed again. "If I hadn't he was going to hurt you. Do you know what he was going to do to you?"
Ariel nodded slightly. "Still Killian you –you killed someone. I mean- I've never seen that side of you. I mean, you got pissed off once at that guy at the tavern when I got drunk but-still."
"Come here" he said, taking her hand and leading her to lay down on the bed next to him. She laid on the opposite side of his wound, placing her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her.
She played with the collar of his shirt as he spoke. "I was only trying to protect you Ariel. Sometimes in order to defend yourself, or the people you love, you need to make some tough choices."
"I-I guess I understand" she said.
"I'm sorry you had to see that" he said.
He could see that her hands were slightly shaking. He took her hands into his, and with his other hand he gently pulled her face up to face him. "Hey, Ariel I would never hurt you, you know that right?"
"Of course Killian, its just… I guess I didn't realize what humans can be capable of, that's all" she said softly.
"But thank you for, for saving me" she said, shifting her head to face him. "If you hadn't been there then, I don't know what I would have done."
"You'll never have to find out love" he said, kissing her forehead.
Her fingers went down to his wound, tracing the bandage with her fingers. "Does it hurt?" she asked.
"Not so much now" he said.
"You'll have a scar there now" she said sadly.
"It's all right. Scars are part of who we are, part of what makes of us how we are. Since I was saving you, think of it as a mark that you left on me" he said, smiling down at her.
Ariel chuckled. "Wait, I just remembered" she said. She got up and sat down on the bed. She raised her shirt slightly, and lowered her pants with her finger just enough to expose some skin on her lower abdomen. "I have a scar where you have one as well" she said, showing him.
Killian's fingers traced the long scar on her skin, memorizing every detail. "What happened?" he asked.
"It was an accident. I was swimming with my sisters when we were younger, and uhmm I wasn't watching where I was going so I hit a reef of rocks."
There was suddenly a knock of the door, and Ariel lowered her shirt down as Killian said "Come in."
To both of their surprises it was Sparrow who came in. "AH glad to see you're all right mate."
"Sparrow" said Killian. "I didn't think you would show up."
"Well, I wanted to know what your decision was" he said.
Killian and Ariel looked at each other for a moment. Ariel raised her eyebrows as if to ask what he was going to say.
Killian nodded at her and turned his attention back to Sparrow. "You got yourself a deal Jack. But if you betray us, I swear it will be the last time you ever betray someone."
"Duly noted mate" he said. "Well I'll let you two rest. See you in the morning."
"Actually" he said, raising himself up again to sit. Ariel helped him, seeing that he was still in pain. "Ariel is going to go to her home, try to see if her father can help us. "
"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you like this" she said.
"Its ok Ariel, the sooner you go, the sooner we can go through with this" he said.
"All right" she said, getting up from the bed. She leaned down and kissed Killian. Killian seemed to return the kiss rather eagerly, as if he knew something that Ariel didn't. When she pulled away, he smiled at her, caressing her cheek. "I love you" he said.
"I love you too" and she kissed him once more before leaving the room.
-X-
Ariel stood looking down at the ocean. He was just about to take her necklace off when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Holden, she saw as she turned around.
"I heard what is going on, Jack told us" he said sympathetically.
Ariel scoffed "well it seems that man doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut" she said.
"Hey it's going to be all right. We're all here, for the both of you, and we will all figure this out, together" he said, smiling at her.
Ariel returned the smile and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug. "Thank you Holden."
"You're welcome. No go to your father, we'll be here waiting for you when you get back."
Ariel gave him a nod, and with that she took of her necklace and handed it to Holden. "Keep it safe will you?"
"Of course".
She nodded at him once more, and then she jumped over the railing, disappearing into the ocean.
-X-
Killian woke up startled, realizing that he had fallen asleep. He must have been asleep for a few hours, since the sun was already out.
"Mormin' mate" said Sparrow, sitting at Killian's desk, still drinking some rum.
"Jack" he said, looking around to see where Ariel was, but then he remembered that she had left .
He got up from the bed, wincing in pain still, and walked out to the deck. Jack quickly followed him, wondering what he was up to.
"Get ready to set sail mates!" he barked at his crew, walking over towards the helm.
The crew just looked at each other, confused. Ariel wasn't back yet, what was he doing?
Killian noticed that no one was doing anything. "I said get ready to set sail!" he screamed at them.
"But Captain, what about Ariel?" it was Holden who decided to muster up the courage to ask the captain.
Killian looked down at Holden and he noticed that he was holding Ariel's necklace. He gestured for Holden to come up towards him.
Holden obeyed, walking up the steps toward Killian.
"Why do you have that?" he asked.
"Ariel gave it to me until she came back" he said.
Holden handed it over to Killian, knowing that he probably wanted to hold it. Killian examined it as he took it. He touched the pendant at the end of the necklace. Was he really going to do this he thought to himself.
"Captain?" asked Holden.
"We need to leave. Now!" he raised his voice, looking out over the crew.
"But what about Ariel?" asked Holden, still confused.
"She's not coming back" he said, sadly. Of course he was lying, Ariel was coming back, and he knew that she was expecting them to be here, waiting for her.
"But she-" Holden began, but he was quickly cut off by Killian. "She is not coming back!" he said angrily. "Why do you think she left the bloody necklace? Because she isn't coming back. She wants to go home, she is tired of all of this shit. She is going back home, where she belongs. So we need to go, now!"
Holden opened up his mouth to protest, but he decided not to. He instead walked away.
Killian called over one of his other men to take the wheel. "Where are we headed Captain?" he asked.
"Anywhere but here" he said, walking down the steps and going back to his room.
-X-
Killian sat at the edge of his bed, the necklace still in his hand. He didn't want to leave Ariel, he loved her, of course he did. But after everything that has happened, he just felt like it was the best thing to do. Sure Jack had offered to kill Davey Jones, but the reality was he didn't have much confidence in him. He knew that in order to kill his father, a lot of blood would be shed, and he didn't want his crew risking their lives for him. This was his problem not theirs. It was his burden, not Ariel's. But she had spent the last year and half tormenting herself, trying to find a way out of this situation, trying to save him. But he could see the toll it was taking on her. She could barely sleep, she wasn't eating as much, it was draining her physically and mentally. He didn't want to put her through that anymore. Sure they seem to have found a solution at this point, but it was too big of a risk to take. If Ariel died because of what they were trying to do, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He didn't want to go through that. He didn't want to put her life at risk.
So he figured that he would leave her. He knew that it would break her heart, and that she would probably hate him, but he also figured he would never see her again.
He suddenly heard the door to his cabin open up, and Jack walked in, giving him a stern look.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" he asked.
Killian didn't answer, he just stared at Ariel's necklace.
"Killian, why are you leaving her? You love her don't you so why-"
"Because I love her! That's why!" he said furiously. "I can't let her go through this. She is killing herself worrying about me. I don't want her to risk her life just to save me, she deserves more than that! Don't you see, this was the only way. I know you said you would kill my father, but its too much of a risk to take. I don't want her to die. "
"So that's it then, you're just gonna spend the next eight years living like nothing is wrong? " he asked.
"I don't know" he said, shaking his head.
Jack just nodded and decided to leave. He wasn't done with this conversation, but he figured he should let Killian be for a little while.
-X-
It had been two days since Ariel had left. She was now swimming back to Jolly Rodger, since unfortunately her father had not been able to help her.
He was happy to see her again, and so were her sisters, but once he heard what had happened, he became very concerned. He wanted Ariel to come back home, where she belonged. He said that life on land was too dangerous. He begged her to stay, but Ariel couldn't, she couldn't just leave Killian.
He told her that he had no way of contacting Davey Jones. Jones was the undead, and the only way to see him was if you were dead yourself.
Disappointed Ariel left, but she had to get back.
After hours of swimming she finally got back to where the ship was. She reached the surface and called out for someone to help her.
A rope fell to next to her and she grabbed it firmly, tugging at it so that the other person would know she was ready.
She was pulled up, but as soon as she saw the person that pulled her up, her heart started to beat faster. This wasn't someone she recognized. Before she could scream a hand covered her mouth, the other one wrapping around her waist. She struggled to try and free herself but she felt something hard hit the back of her head, and she saw men coming towards her before it all went black.