(~) Okay… been a little obsessed with the song "Forever December" by Tabitha's Secret lately so… heavy influence on this chapter. Yeah…

Part Nine. Entering The Triangle

A week or so had passed since Joan and Almour's confrontation, and those who knew the Pearl's supposed destination were beginning to feel doubtful. Everyone but Jack, of course, who never really felt any doubt about anything anyway. The weather had, however, taken a turn for the worse. Late in the afternoon, black clouds would gather in the sky and torrential winds and rain would toss the ship mercilessly through the ocean. The Black Pearl currently caught in one of those storms.

Will was racing across the deck, desperately trying to do his part to steady the ship through the raging waters. The mast made a horrible creaking sound that made his stomach churn at the thought of what could happen.

"JACK!" he screamed, but his voice was drowned out by a crash of thunder. He ran halfway to where Jack stood battling the helm and cupped his hands over his mouth. "JACK!" Finally he had caught the Captain's attention. "WE NEED TO LOWER THE SAILS!!!"

Jack shook his head, his braids and beads flying in his face from the wind. "NO!"

"WE'LL BE DISMASTED!!!" Will shouted. There was another creaking sound, and he could see that even Jack was wincing now.

"ALRIGHT! LOWER THE SAILS!!!" the Captain bellowed as loud as he could. Will ran back to the rest of the crew, carrying on the order.

Rhiannon dashed along the slippery floorboards, her shoes making her fumble as she tried to move at top speed. Suddenly she came in contact with something that had been jutting out of the deck and fell face first onto the deck. Rhiannon groaned as she turned herself over, still lying on her back, her face being thrashed at by the driving rain.

"Rhiannon?"

"Who is it?"

"Rhiannon, don't do this…"

She groaned. She must have really hit her head hard.

"Don't meddle in this, Rhiannon. You have too much to lose."

"Argh! Stop hearing things that aren't there!" Rhiannon shouted to herself, still feeling too much pain in her head right then and there to move. But her heart skipped a bit when she felt someone brush lightly against her cheek, then everything went black.

Joan slowly walked the steps that led to the main deck.. There was another storm battering the Pearl, this was in a sense a good thing for her, for this usually meant that she could be above deck earlier than usual had the sun been out. This storm sounded particularly severe, perhaps someone would be deathly injured. That's all she could think about lately. Joan had begun feeling weaker and weaker by the day. She was very anxious to feed, but there wasn't much opportunity.

Just about as she was going to emerge into the tempest, a bloodcurdling scream went up, followed by a cry of: "HOLY SHIT! SOMEONE GET HIM BELOW DECK!" Joan grinned, pressing herself into the shadows as two of the crew members rushed by, the arms of a limp figure across their shoulders. Moving almost silently, the Vampire followed the men to the mess hall below where they laid the man on one of the tables.

Joan stepped into the light of the room, careful to hide her immense mirth with a mask of concern. "What happened?" she asked, putting on the best act she could.

One of them looked over their shoulder at her. "He fell from the rigging…"

"That's terrible!" Joan cried melodramatically, luckily, they didn't seem to notice her phony nature.

"Listen… would you mind looking after him? We really can't be down here long."

"Of course, of course," she replied, nodding her head a bit too many times. The two crew members rushed out of the room, leaving the unconscious form behind. Joan came closer to the table, like a shark honing in on its prey. She took a moment to look over him, she had seen him once or twice on the main deck in the latter hours of the night. A fall from the rigging? she thought vaguely to herself. He hasn't got a chance.

The young man's eyes snapped open suddenly and gasped harshly for breath. He looked at Joan, pain in his eyes as he tried to form words. "I'm… I'm dying… aren't I?" She nodded in reply, he groaned and closed his eyes. "I don't want to die… Oh God, please…"

Something unexpected happened as she watched him try to cling onto life. "I can make it end… I can end the pain…"

"What do you mean?"

"I can make it all stop… You'll never feel pain again…"

"Please," he said, looking up at her.

Joan leaned down and kissed the back of his hand, taking it gently in hers. She tilted his chin back and pushed his hair away. "I'm sorry," she murmured softly, then bit into his throat, unable to make the deed seem less savage. Her fangs sunk into his throat and she couldn't help but feel something like an electric tremor of excitement race through her body at finally being able to feed again. Slowly she drew more and more blood from him, not taking time for a breath. It was like a continuous chain. His grip on her hand began to fail and his breaths were slowing with every passing minute. When she was done, she gently laid his head back against the table, but she didn't feel like she usually did after feeding. She felt shame.

"Thank you…" he whispered, barely audible. His hand fell away from hers as his eyes closed for the last time.

Joan licked the blood on her lips away remorsefully. She had been taking human life for so many years, and it had never been right, and she hated that she had never regretted it until now. She buried her face in her hands, feeling tears stain her skin.

"Joan?"

She lifted her head suddenly at the sound of her name, the crimson trails on her cheeks. It was Jack, standing in the doorway of the mess hall, his eyes wide in shock and his hair drenched from the rain. Slowly he came towards her, his mouth flailing wordlessly.

"What did you do…?"

"I… I… I don't know," she gasped, slumping to the ground miserably. "He was dying… He couldn't take the pain… I tried to help…"

"So you killed him?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"I…yes…"

"Joan… you killed a member of my crew… For no good reason," he said sternly, rounding on her.

"He was dying! What else could I do!?"

"I don't think your grasping the matter… He's dead because of you!" he shouted.

"Don't yell at me, Jack Sparrow!" she yelled, the tears of blood coming from her eyes again. "He was going to die anyway, I did him a favor!"
"And what favor was that!"

"I stopped the pain for him!" Joan retorted, the hurt in her voice growing. Her shoulders sagged as she surveyed him morosely. "You could never understand… You kill for the hell of it… But I kill to literally survive. I don't like it, Jack! I hate it! I'd change it if I could… But I can't! "

He fell silent, watching her try and hide her face from him. He glanced at the still form that had been a crew member on the Pearl. Now what? Now nothing. Jack kneeled down where she was slouched on the floor, but he was in no means sympathetic.

"Give me one good reason to keep your secret any longer…"

Joan looked back him, as if she couldn't believe her ears. "Because I didn't choose to be what I am…" She stifled another sob. "It wasn't my choice," she whispered hoarsely.

"That's one rotten excuse," he snarled.

On sudden impulse, Joan reached out and ripped one of the shells from Jack's hair in her sudden anger. He growled in pain, a large clump of his hair now missing. She tapped her fingernails on it smugly.

"You'll keep it because I'll kill you if you don't."

Jack lunged at her, snarling like an animal. He pinned her arms down with his knees and wrapped his fingers around her throat, doing all that he could to throttle her. She tried to push Jack off of her, but he was stronger than Almour or just about anyone else. She coughed trying to get air in and at the same time get him off with her leg. Freeing one arm she smashed her hand into his face, making him loose his grip on her as he tried to pry her off. Thinking quickly, Joan used her knee to shove Jack in the stomach and moved out from under him, and drawing her pistol.

"Don't make me do this, Jack!" she croaked out.

Jack didn't say anything in return. He didn't really know what he could say to her at this point. "Joan… I…"

She stared at him, her face had been so simply placid for so long that she felt like a wall crumbling to the ground. "What is it…?"

He sighed helplessly, watching her. The ship rocked suddenly and violently causing her to misstep her feet and hit the floorboards, but did not lose her grip on the pistol. Joan lowered her head sullenly, hiding her face. Jack walked over to her, still wary of the fact that she likely to shoot him. Are all women this crazy?

"What's going on with you?" he asked softly.

"I can't go on like this…" she muttered miserably. "I've done nothing but cause death and … death. I want it to end…"

"Then end it…"

"It's not that easy… If I did I'd … die."

Jack stared at her, deeply confused for several minutes. "Then isn't it… what's more important to you…?"

"I don't know," she sighed, "It used to be I had nothing to live for… but now…"

"Now what?"

Joan hesitated. "You must think that I'm weak…" she said softly.

Now if Will had told him anything in the past about women that it was careful to figure out when you lied and when you told the truth. If he said "Yes," he would be telling the truth, that's what he thought. If he said "No," he would be lying, but she'd know that. Maybe something vague and in between? It was the best bet he could make at the moment.

"I think… you're confused…"

She looked at him for the first time, her emerald-like eyes flashing. "I'm confused, am I?"

"I dunno, I'm not your psychologist!" Jack shouted a bit too loudly.

"You're no help."

Jack lowered himself down on one knee. Why was he so concerned about her? He shouldn't be. But he was. He gently wiped away one of the new crimson tears that was slowly trailing below her eye.

"Dry your eyes. You'll figure something out…"

She raised her gaze to look at him. She had never cared much for anyone, more prominently, no one had even remotely cared for her. Not like the authentic nature Jack had. Everything was beginning to feel steadily more and more toiled up inside her. "Jack…"

"You'll figure it out," he reassured her, feeling enraptured by her emerald gaze.

"Captain Sparrow! Captain Sparrow! Jaaaack!"

Jack snapped out of his trance like state of mind almost like a reflex as Mr. Gibbs came skidding into view. "What is it?"

"It's… I… Well… You better see it for yourself, sir."

Jack stood up to his full height, and nodded. "Very good, Gibbs. I'll be up in a moment."

In Gibbs' flustered entrance he hadn't noticed the body of the young crewmember. He looked at it a bit sourly then back to Jack. "What…"

"He's dead," Jack said solemnly. "We'll tend to the body later." Gibbs nodded dumbly, waiting for Jack to go on further. He rolled his dark eyes. "Well, go on. I'll follow you up."

"Yes, sir." Then he darted out of view.

"Listen… we'll talk later… Just… don't kill anyone else, savvy?"

"Savvy," she agreed subconsciously - for it was a word she probably wouldn't have used under another circumstance.

Jack emerged onto the main deck into what he expected. A fog. Storms plus warm weather always equaled storms. "What in the name of…" He trailed off when he saw the rest of the crew all standing by the port side of the ship, gazing off at something the Captain couldn't see from where he was standing. He walked up alongside Gibbs and Will, his dark eyes widening at the sight.

"That's interesting."

In the fog there was the unmistakable scene of at least a dozen ships sailing like a leaf on the wind, but they looked like mere silhouettes of what they had been in their glory days. Wispy, pallid silhouettes of ships that had been in years past. There were murmurs fleeting up among the crew now.

"Alright!" Jack shouted, getting the rest of the crews attention. "As the Captain of this little dingy, I might like to remind you -because God only knows what's happened to your brains in the last year- you've all at one point come in contact with the undead or some supernatural thing-a-ma-jig. And we are in fact, entering the Bermuda Triangle and I think these sights will be a little more often, so, try to keep your trousers clean, lads."

With that Jack stalked off to the other side of the ship, trying to ignore the murmurs that continued to rise from the rest of the crew. Anna Maria who had been standing at the helm grinned as she looked at him.

"Stirring speech, Captain."

"Glad you thought so, you know how important feedback is to me," he replied sarcastically.

(~*~)

"Nasty fall?"

Rhiannon's eyes opened slowly at the sound of a familiar voice. It was still dark and she couldn't quite put things into focus yet. She felt a strong, callused hand grab her wrist and help her to her feet. It was Will. Rhiannon was still feeling rather dizzy, but did what she could to keep her balance.

"Are you alright?" he asked, tenderly placing his fingertips at her temples. "You must have hit your head pretty hard."

"Hmm? Ah, yeah. Hit my head… Um. Ouch."

Will laugh. It was the first happy emotion she had seen earnestly displayed since they had left Tortuga. She hadn't spoken to Will about what had happened between him and Elizabeth, but now felt like as good a time as any.

"Will… you and Elizabeth…" She sensed him grow tense, but she continued. "You can talk to me about it."

Will clenched his fists, wanting to pummel something to let his anger out on. "She never loved me. I know it!" he cried bitterly. "She doesn't like who I am all of a sudden. She's been living a lie. She turned me away for no good reason! None at all! If she really loved me, she wouldn't have done this! She wouldn't have put me through this! She would care that she was putting me through this pain…" He trailed off to look meaningfully at Rhiannon, his gaze full of hurt and despair. "She doesn't care, does she?"

"Will… I can't speak for Elizabeth…" Rhiannon said, a bit shocked at being put on the spot so suddenly. Will's shoulder's sagged, it broke Rhiannon's heart. Slowly she wrapped her arms around him comfortingly, resting her head on his shoulder. "She was wrong…"

Much to Rhiannon's surprise, he returned the embrace tightly. He ran his fingers through her hair fondly, feeling like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders. Several minutes had passed, but Will didn't want to let her go. It was as if he let her go, the sky would come crashing down.

"This feels right," he whispered.