Chapter Fourteen: Walk the Plank!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, ideas, or lines from POTC.

"What exactly happens to me down here?" asked Will to Lissie as she tried desperately to move the heavy mast.

"Well, the water fills up the bottom completely, but you have to swim down and get the heck out of this ship, or else you will get blown up!"

"Ah," he said weakly.

* * *

I know this music, thought Beth. She immediately looked over at the Black Pearl, and saw Jack swinging over, knock a pirate into the ocean, and swing back. She cheered quietly. Stopping a pirate from killing Elizabeth, (darn! Thought Beth) he said, "That's not very nice," and Elizabeth knocked him in the head with her gun.

Jack led her over to a corner.

"Where's the medallion?" he asked desperately.

"Wretch!" she said as she tried to slap him, but he caught her wrist, seeing the bandage that Will had put on it.

"Ah, where is dear William?"

Elizabeth looked over, and saw Lissie making furious attempts to move the mast.

"Will," she whispered as she ran over.

"Jack! I'm so glad you're back!" Beth said, running over.

"Sorry I didn't get to 'make it up to you', Bethy," he said as he hugged her.

Beth smiled into his chest.

* * *

"Will!" screamed Elizabeth, pushing Lissie out of the way.

"Elizabeth!" yelled Will back.

Jack looked over Beth's head, and saw the monkey with the medallion. "Monkey!" he exclaimed. "Sorry, Beth, gotta go!" he said as he ran off.

Beth, somewhat dazed in her trance, didn't notice the pirates grab her and forcefully try to take her over to the Black Pearl. Once she felt the arms grab hers forcefully, then she started trying to fight back, but it was no use.

* * *

"Get out of my way!" Lissie hissed at Elizabeth.

"I can't move it!" they said together.

Lissie shoved Elizabeth straight into the arms of a few pirates trying to take the prisoners. Elizabeth screamed, but there was nothing she could do.

"Will, listen to me! You've got to swim do—AAHHH!" she screamed as the pirates now took hold of her. Fighting desperately, 'lethal weapon number seven' kicked one of the pirates holding her in the place where she knew it would hurt the most, but the pirate didn't even flinch.

Curse this curse! She thought as she screamed back at Will.

"WILL! THEY'VE GOT ME!"

"LISSIE!" he yelled back, cursing at the pirates. "LET HER GO!" screaming his head off, he pushed at the grate, but it was hopeless. Taking Lissie's advice, he took a huge breath and dove under.

* * *

"If any of you so much thinks the word parley, I'll have your guts for garters!" said Pintel.

Lissie couldn't take it. She threw the rope off her and started to run toward the edge of the ship at the exact same moment as Elizabeth, but then, the Interceptor blew up.

Lissie stopped dead and sank to the ground. "Will," she whispered.

Elizabeth, however, ran forward.

"YOU GODLESS SAVAGE!" she screamed at Barbossa.

Lissie could barely hear her. All she could do was pray that Will had taken her advice and swam under the ship, and that he was safe. He's alive…he's alive… he's going to be all right, he took my advice…WHERE'S THAT MUSIC?! She thought to herself.

"Welcome back, miss!" said Barbossa. "You took advantage of our hospitality last time, it holds true now that you return a favor!" he pushed her back into the crowd of pirates.

"And why not add another one? Get the brunette!" added Barbossa.

This snapped Lissie out of her trance as she felt the pirates grab her roughly for the second time, shoving her into the crowd.

Jack hid Beth behind him the best he could.

Elizabeth was screaming worse than Lissie, and that was saying something. The pirates had just gagged her so she couldn't make another sound, and Lissie was still screaming, when she heard the music.

She looked up, her face shining with hope.

There he was.

"BARBOSSA!" he yelled as he climbed up on the ship.

"Will," Lissie whispered.

He leapt down on the deck and held a gun at Barbossa's face. "She goes free!"

"What's in your head, boy?"

"She goes free."

"You've only got one shot, and we can't die."

"Don't do anything stupid," Jack whispered desperately, clapping his hands together.

Will looked from Jack, begging, to Elizabeth, who was gagged, and then to Lissie, who was struggling to get to him.

"You can't…I can." He pointed the gun to his head.

Elizabeth and Lissie both made furious attempts to get to Will, and stop him from committing suicide for them.

"Like that," said Jack hopelessly.

"Who are you?" asked Barbossa.

"No one," said Jack stepping forward. "He's no one. A distant… cousin of my aunt's nephew… twice removed. Lovely singing voice though. Eunuch."

"My name is Will Turner! My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner! His blood runs in my veins!"

"It's the spitting image of ol' Bootstrap Bill come back to haunt us!" exclaimed Ragetti.

"On my word do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger, and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker!"

"Name your terms, Mr. Turner."

"Lissie and Elizabeth go free!"

"Yes, we know that one. Anythin' else?"

Jack pointed to himself, giving his who-can-resist-me look.

"And the crew!" added Will. "The crew are not to be harmed."

Barbossa stepped up. "Agreed."

* * *

Elizabeth was standing on the plank, stalling as long as she could.

She looked behind her, only to see Will struggling with all the pirates that had a hold of him, his hair coming out of its ponytail.

"Barbossa you lying bastard! You swore she'd go free!"

"Don't dare impugn me honor, boy! I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where!"

Lissie and Elizabeth saw one pirate slip a dirty cloth between Will's perfect teeth, gagging him.

"Although it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it, lads?" asked Barbossa.

"So I'll be having that dress back before you go."

Lissie laughed inside her head. Stuck up brat… she actually thought he was talking about her?

"It goes with your black heart!" said Elizabeth as she threw the dress back to Barbossa.

"Ooh, it's still warm," he exclaimed as he threw it to the crowd.

Elizabeth was right at the edge of the plank…

"Too long!" said Bósun. He shook the plank, and Elizabeth fell into the ocean.

The pirates next pushed Lissie to the front, who was trying her best to fight back and stand her ground. However, they succeeded in getting her on the plank, swords pointing at her from almost every direction.

She looked at Beth, who had her mouth open, shocked that these heartless (and not to mention brainless) pirates were making her best friend walk the plank or die.

She looked at Will next, looking at her with… what was that expression? Melancholy? Pity? Forgiveness?

"Get on with you, lass!" yelled Ragetti.

She looked at Will for two more seconds, mouthing the words, "Trust your instincts," at him, then turned around, now facing the water. She looked at it, trying her best to imagine that she was just on a diving board and was about to dive into a pool… a very big pool.

"What is it with these girls? They all take too long!" yelled Bósun, shaking the plank yet again so that Lissie fell off.

Now, Beth was really shocked. Jack was next.

"I really rather hoped we were past all this," he said to Barbossa.

"Jack, Jack! Did ye not notice? That be the same little island we made you governor of on our last little trip."

"I did notice."

"Well, perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape, but I doubt it." He unsheathed his sword. "Off you go."

"Last time, you left me a pistol with one shot."

"By the powers, you're right. Where be Jack's pistol? Bring it forward."

"Seeing as there's three of us, a gentleman would give us three pistols."

"It'll be one pistol as before, and you can be the gentleman, and shoot the ladies, and starve to death yerself." Barbossa threw his pistol in the water.

Jack looked maniacally at it, then dove into the ocean.

All right, that's it! Thought Beth. "OUTTA MY WAY!" she yelled at the pirates. Then, she did the unthinkable. She ran to the plank, and dove off herself, well, actually bellyflopping, and swam off after Jack… and leaving Will alone.