Chapter 18: Clearing the air

"Only Will an' I are goin' t' land - an' I mean that, ladies," Jack added, sending a stren glance towards where Isabelle and Louisa were standing at the bow of the ship. The boat was lowered, and it took barely any time for Jack to row them both over.

The Isla de Meurte was just as uninviting as it had been the last time Will was there, and nothing had changed. Again they were there at night, and the moonlight cast eerie shadows, and bathed the whole place with a sickly blue light. The skeleton of Barbossa was still in the same place, and Will chided himself for believing that Barbossa was still alive. Jack the monkey clung to Jack the pirate, refusing to let go of Jack's shoulder. The place spooked the monkey, who'd lived there for twenty years.

Jack knew what he was doing this time, and the monkey acting so clingy wasn't exactly helping matters. Climbing out of the boat, and pulling it ashore, Jack noticed Will seemed tense about something, but didn't press the point.

The cavern was still piled high with the pirate's loot, but no one had ever been able to find it after Jack disappeared with the compass. It didn't point to North, everyone knew that, but it did point to the Isla de Meutre. Will *had* known where it was, but had been unable to face going inside after Jack's disappearance. There was more to the story of the disappearance than even Elizabeth knew - in fact, it was secret that had played at Will's conscience since the fateful day, twenty years before.

~Flashback~

Will and Jack stood on opposite sides of the chest. Jack wore a grin to rival a child who learns Christmas has come early. "So, what will it be, Will. Do ye agree t' the terms o' the bargain, or will ye fight me for it?" Will stood, arms crossed, fingers playing on the top of his sword. "I willna fight ye for anything, Jack. There is naught t' be gained in this cavern 'cept deceit an' downfall - you know that as well as I."

Jack said nothing, just played with the Aztec coins in front of him - they still had the power to draw people towards them, to tempt their removal. Finally he looked up at Will, and grinned, "Aye, I know that well - it caused me t' lose the Pearl. But this cavern... this cavern should not be left unused - it has storage capabilities much more extensive than those o' the Isle." Will shook his head, "I'll not have it, Jack. The Isla de Meurte must be left alone - it has caused the deaths of far too many people!"

Jack glanced behind him, through a small hole blasted by a cannon, where the still-burning remains of one of Will's ships could still be seen. "Aye, well, that were naught but an accident, Will, ye know that as well as I," he said, turning back to Will to see a reaction. Will clenched his fists under his arms, "That accident killed over a hundred o' my best men, Jack! If ye canna see what dangers the Isla de Meurte holds, then you're not only daft, but blind as well!"

Jack dropped the last of the coins into the chest, Will watching to make sure he hadn't concealed any, and stepped back. "Aye? I'm daft *and* blind, am I now? Let me ask ye a question, Will - who has helped ye in the las' two years, besides me? Have I *ever* given ye reason t' doubt me?" Will smirked, "Aye, Jack, ye have - when ye blew apart one o' me ships withou' warnin', killin' 'most the entire crew. *That's* when ye gave me reason t' doubt ye!"

Jack grinned suddenly, a quick smile that was gone before Will had even registered the fact it was there. "Will, I always thought ye were a person o' near-sight, but now ye jus' proved it t' me. Half o' your *crew*, Will, were men o' the Navy. An' they're the ones who died, not so many o' your pirates as what ye think!" Will was too angry with Jack to speak for several minutes. Once he'd forced his anger into a small hollow at the pit of his stomach, he spoke. "Jack, ye can take ye ship, ye men, an' leave the Caribbean. I've enough ships t' sink ye in th' blink o' an eye - an' was it you who said to Elizabeth once that ye wouldn't jus' be the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main, but the whole ocean? Ye havna left the Caribbean yet, Jack - the ocean is a whole lot bigger than this!"

Jack said nothing, just turned on his heel and stalked out of the cavern, taking one of the two long boats, and heading back for his ship. Will hadn't had time to explain that he *knew* about most of crew being Naval officers, or that he'd had his own plan for them. He reached the Dauntless, and the remaining crew, before Jack who had to row to the Pearl - anchored quite a way past the Dauntless.

They'd set sail at once for the Isle, to await Jack's return. But he hadn't come back - he'd sailed to Tortuga, and picked up Anamaria (that much he'd heard from sources on the island), but he hadn't returned to the Isle. He'd vanished off the face of the earth, and into the Bermuda Triangle.

~End Flashback~

Jack held the monkey over the chest, holding the dagger and the medallion. He handed the monkey the medallion, and grasped the little creature's hand. "By blood begun, by blood undone," he whispered, in remembrance of what Barbossa had said each time he'd spilled the blood into the chest.

He made a nick on the monkey's hand, and it merely looked at him - in cursed form, one didn't feel anything. The medallion, once anointed with the blood, slipped into the chest as the monkey released it. The moonlight shining on him revealed his true existence, once more a monkey of flesh and bone. It clambered up Jack's arm, to come to rest on his shoulder once again. Jack looked at it and laughed, "Ye want t' come wi' us, aye?" The monkey grinned, in it's weird and unusual way, and tentatively reached out a hand and patted Jack's head.

Neither Will or Jack spoke as they pushed the lid of the chest back into place, securing it so that the monkey had no way to get back into it. It was only when Will noticed how they were standing that he realised why Jack hadn't said anything. "Please tell me we ain't gonna be havin' another argument like what we did twenty-odd years ago?" joked Jack, but Will took it more seriously. "We're not. But... Jack - was the reason ye left 'ecause o' the argument between us?"

Jack laughed, "No, it wasn't because of that - entirely.... What ye said to me then, Will - it brought a lot o' things out in the open, but I ne'er blamed ye. I wanted t' go, an' I thought ye understood that there was no pressure from ye. An' I did understand what ye said 'bout this place, an' ye were right. It is only a place of deceit, an' downfall."

Will couldn't help himself - he started laughing. It started as a slight chuckle, but grew into a hearty laugh that almost had tears rolling down his face. "I ne'er picked ye for one t' remember things like that, Jack. Not once in the entire time I've known ye!" Jack saw the funny side of it, and started laughing as well.

By the time the pair of them had calmed down, and were able to look at one another without laughing, it was almost light. The first pale rays of light drifted across the sky, illuminating the Black Pearl. Many of the crew were asleep on the deck, while a few had gone underneath. Jamie was in the crow's nest, and Will was asleep at the base of the mast, leaning against a pile of ropes. Louisa and Isabelle were at the bow of the ship, fast asleep. Gibbs had gone underneath, to the crew's quarters, and the cabin boy had taken to his usual place inside the empty storage closet, for whichever reason he preferred to sleep there.

Jack and Will, along with the monkey, pulled alongside the ship, and clambered up the ladder still remaining from the night before. It wasn't an easy thing to do, since the both of them were exhausted from laughing all night, and had spent the last few hours talking about things that had changed since Jack had set out. But one thing was clear between them - the argument had nothing to do with Jack's disappearance, it just cleared the air and made Jack realise what he still had to do.

Waking up the crew members as they passed them, it didn't take long for everyone to be assembled on deck. Jack, as per usual, gave the orders, "Set the sails! We're headin' North-North-West! An' Bootstrap an' I ain't t' be disturbed 'less ye see a ship, or land, savvy?" The crew yelled in unison, "Aye!" and set to work. Jack went underneath to his cabin, but Will paused to speak to the two girls. "Jus' cause we ain't on deck don't mean ye can get away wi' doin' nothin', savvy? I want this deck spotless when I get back up 'ere, or else ye'll both be goin' for a swim."

Louisa and Isabelle nodded, and Will went down to his own cabin. The girls exchanged glances, before dissolving into giggles. "I wish Da weren't always in such a bad mood when he ain't had enough sleep!" Louisa managed, and Isabelle almost fell over laughing. On the stairs, Will heard them, and almost turned to go back up, but Jack stepped from his cabin and stopped him with a glance. "Ye canna keep your girl from growin' up, Will, no matter how much ye try. She'll only rebel agains' ye, an' end up in Tortuga - let her be fer a while, savvy?"

Will said nothing, but his expression softened, just a tad. Turning, he headed for his own cabin, leaving Jack in the shadows with a smile to rival the Cheshire Cat. "That's one thing *no* man should do," he said, practically to himself since Will was almost out of earshot. Shaking his head, he retired into his own cabin until someone came to wake him up.