Chapter Ten- Moonlit Stroll?


On the Black Pearl, Pintel was telling the story of Bootstrap Bill.

"...Never sat well with Bootstrap what we did to Jack Sparrow, the mutiny and all. Said it wasn't right with the code. That's why he sent off a piece of the treasure to you, as it were. He said we deserved to be cursed… and remain cursed."

"Stupid blighter," said Ragetti from behind Pintel.

"Good man," Gibbs said to them.

Pintel made to finish the tale, "But as you can imagine, that didn't sit too well with the Captain."

Ragetti interrupted him, "That didn't sit too well with the Captain, at all. Tell him what Barbossa did."

"I'm telling the story! So, what the Captain did, he strapped a cannon to Bootstrap's bootstraps,"

"Bootstraps' bootstraps," snickered Ragetti.
"And the last we saw of ol' Bill Turner, he was sinking to the crushing black oblivion of Davy Jones' Locker. 'Course it was only after that we learned we needed his blood to lift the curse."
"That's what you call ironic," said Ragetti, and they laughed to infuriate Will.

Barbossa came down the steps, throwing the key to Will's cell to Pintel. "Bring him."

Norrington, his men, and Jack were rowing out to the cave.

"I don't care for the situation. Any attempt to storm the cave could turn to an ambush," said Norrington to Jack.

Jack said, "Not if you're the one doing the ambushing. I go in to convince Barbossa to send his men out in their little boats. You and your mates return to the Dauntless and blast the bejesus outta them with your little cannons, aye?" He put his arm on Norrington, "What do you have to lose?"

Norrington peeled off Jack's arm, "Nothing I'd lament being rid of."

"Now, to be quite honest with you, there's still a slight risk for those aboard the Dauntless which includes the future Mrs. Commodore."

Soon, Elizabeth was being pulled along by Gillette and another soldier,"Sorry, but it's for your own safety."

" I don't care what the Commodore ordered, I must tell him! The pirates…they're cursed...they cannot be killed!" Elizabeth yelled.

Gillette regarded this as ridiculous, "Don't worry, miss, he's already informed of that. A little mermaid flopped up on deck and told him the whole story."

"This is Jack Sparrow 's doing!" she said, Gillette locking her in.

Barbossa and his crew were headed towards the treasure, when Pintel said to Will, "No reason to fret, it's just a prick of the finger and a few drops of blood."

"No mistakes this time. He's only half-Turner. We spill it all!" said Twigg.

"Guess there is reason to fret," jested Pintel.

Jack made his way through the pirates, "Beg your pardon."

Barbossa was about to slit Will's throat, "Begun by blood…"

"Excuse me," said Jack.

"…by blood un–"

"Jack!" Will said.

Barbossa couldn't believe his eyes. "S'not possible."

Jack walked closer, "Not probable."

"Where's Elizabeth?" inquired Will.

"She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised, and you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really except for Elizabeth who is, in fact, a woman."

Barbossa refused to listen, "Shut up! You're next." He leaned in to slit Will's throat.

Jack disrupted the ceremony again, "You don't want to be doing that, mate."

"No, I really think I do."

"Your funeral," he said nonchalantly.

This made Barbossa think. "Why don't I want to be doing it?"

"Well, because..." he pushed the pirate's arm off his shoulder, "…because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore…waiting for you."

On the Pearl, Victoria whispered to Francesca, "Coast is clear. Now!"

Francesca hastily picked the lock with the broken fork, walking out of the prison cell, making sure the pirates hadn't heard. "Come on!" she whispered to Vicky. The pirates moved, one said, "What was that?"

"Go!" said Mr. Gibbs in a loud whisper, "Go! We'll get out on our own time- give me that fork."

Francesca gave him the fork, "There. Thank you! We'll be back for you, I promise."

Vicky and Francesca crept out of view, up the steps, and into one of the two lifeboats left.

"We have to get them, even if the Commodore's troops won't," said Vicky.

"Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the Dauntless; they do what they do best, Robert's your uncle Fannie's your aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. 'Course you'll take the grandest as your flagship and who's to argue? But what of the Pearl ? Name me Captain, I'll sail under your colors, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder, and you get to introduce yourself as…Commodore Barbossa. Savvy?"

"I s'pose in exchange you want me not to kill the whelp."

"No, no, not at all- by all means, kill the whelp. Just not yet. Wait to lift the curse… until the opportune moment. For instance," Jack picked up a few pieces of the gold, "after you've killed Norrington's men…every (throws one piece back)… last (another)… one (and a third)." He secretly pocketed the last one.

Will was the only one who saw Jack take the last piece of gold, "You've been planning this from the beginning, ever since you learned my name."

"Yeah."

Barbossa contemplated this, "I want fifty percent of your plunder."

"Fifteen."

"Forty."

"Twenty-five. And I'll buy you the hat, a really big one…Commodore," bargained Jack.

"We have an accord." They shook hands.

"All hands to the boats!" Barbossa looked at him askance. "Apologies, you give the orders."

"Gents! Take a walk." The pirates walked out of the cave.

"Not to the boats?"

The pirates walked straight into the water, not needing to breathe. The moonlight shone underwater, revealing their true form- decaying human forms with naught to hide their skeletons but clothes.

Twigg looked to the surface of the water, nudging the pirate beside him. They were below Victoria and Francesca's boat. He exchanged glances with Twigg, and they swam upward, just below the boat.

"Now, we've got to try to make our way through the pirates without causing a riot, or else we're–" The pirate reached over the edge and forced Francesca underwater.

Vicky screamed as the skeleton of Twigg dragged her under immediately after.

Jack snapped his head around when he heard the scream, "That's not the scream of a pirate or one of the fop brigade, Barbossa."

"Your lass is aboard the Pearl. Maybe she's tried to escape. We'll not have any prisoners escaping."

'Opportune moment, opportune moment, don't shoot him yet, opportune moment,' Jack mouthed at barely a whisper with his back turned. "Barbossa, she won't be harmed, am I right?"

"The crew have been told to ambush the Dauntless. What else they may do is their decision. Besides, you've got the Black Pearl. No lass is worth that."

Jack didn't answer, still thinking, 'Opportune moment, opportune moment, kill them all later, opportune moment...'

They lost air rapidly, and Victoria blacked out from the pressure.

Francesca let out a fierce yell, whacking the pirate with the end of her pistol until he let her go with a gurgled, "Bloody pirates!"

She broke Twigg's neck with the tang of her sword, giving her enough time to bring them both to the surface before he could snap it back. She slid herself and Vic into the boat.

"Vicky- wake up!...It's Will!"

"Where?!" she gasped, spitting up a bit of water from her lungs.

"That'll do it," Francesca said, an oar in each hand, "Let's go now, no time to lose."

As they rowed into the cave, Francesca threw the fork. It hit the rock and landed near Jack's feet as he collected treasure. Jack smiled, "The bloody women know how to fight better than the pirates."

Will was still tied up standing on a pile of treasure while Jack distracted Barbossa.

"I must admit, Jack, I thought I had ye figured. It turns out that you're a hard man to predict."

"Me? I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest... Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly… stupid." Jack unsheathed another pirate's sword and pushed him out of the way. Barbossa grimaced, drawing his own sword.

Francesca and Vic got out of the boat, swords at the ready, running over the piles of treasure.

"Will!" Vicky said, slashing his bonds. He took out his sword and started to fight the pirates who drew near. Francesca and Victoria joined him, slicing through the pirates.

"You know what I hate more than pirates?" Vicky said.

Francesca kept fighting, "What?"

She sliced through a pirate for the second time, "Pirates you can't bloody get rid of!"

The pirate disarmed Francesca. "Oh shit." Jack hurled his sword at the pirate, lodging it in his rib cage. She pulled it out and picked up her own sword, throwing his back to him.

Barbossa clashed swords with Jack, "You're off the edge of the map, mate. Here there be monsters."