Pirates of the Caribbean: The Voyage for the Blue Star

By JessieHeart

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Chapter Five: Two Turners

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Bill paced across the deck of the Black Pearl. Jack watched him-- back and forth, back and forth-- until he couldn't stand it any longer.

"Pacing won't make us get there any faster. I promise we'll reach the island by noon tomorrow," he called. Bill stopped and glanced at Jack with inpatient eyes.

Bill spoke. "I don't understand why YOU aren't more anxious. It's YOUR son they're going to kill."

Jack nodded, then chuckled quietly.

"What?" asked Bill, slightly annoyed.

"It's just..." said Jack, his gaze distant and remembering, "You're so much like your parents. Back when Barbossa had my ship, and your mum and dad kept trying to save one another, they paced just like you were. When I told them to calm down, they would try and make me go faster with the argument, 'It's YOUR ship they're sailing.'" Jack chuckled again. "I guess being manipulative runs in the family."

"Manipulative?!" cried Bill. "The way my mum tells the story, YOU were the mastermind throughout the entire Barbossa charade. YOU were the one who tempted people into doing things that you wanted."

Jack nodded. "Aye, that's true... But I always waited for the opportune moment. Will just did things very... stupid."

They were both silent for a while, until Bill began pacing again.

"I still want to get there faster," he grumbled.

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Amelia surveyed the damage from her battle with the Black Pearl. The ship seemed all right, just a hole here and there, but she had lost five men. Her crew was now cut down to nine. If they ran into the Pearl again... Amelia hated the odds.

Below deck, Eli and Elizabeth were "catching up." Elizabeth still believed her son to be Jack Sparrow.

The two sat side-by-side, leaning against a wall. Eli kept an arm around his mother.

"Eli's been arrested fifteen times under my name," he said, "Luckily, he's also good at getting out of tight spots."

Unseen in the dark, Elizabeth smiled. "It's kind of the same with Will. A lot of people he pillages from believes him to be Bootstrap Bill."

They were both quiet for a while, both of them running out of conversation topics. Eli closed his eyes. He was on the edge of sleep when his mother spoke again.

"You've changed, Jack."

"Aye?" Eli questioned, unsure of what she meant.

"You've been in this cell several hours now, and you've hardly moved. Remember when we were stranded on that island? You couldn't sit still for five minutes. These long years have changed you. Don't tell me that the infamous Sparrow has lost his need for freedom?"

Eli opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out. His mind raced with excuses. In reality, Eli had been locked in so many jails that he'd gotten used to them. Something always popped up that saved him from the noose. Jack, on the other hand, hated capture to no end.He always had to fidget, move around, survey the room from possible weaknesses. Eli hadn't done a very good impression of this, so of course Elizabeth would notice.

"I..." Eli tried again, beckoning words to come to him, "I'm very drunk right now, love. Don't have the desire nor strength to move, really. Give me an hour..."

Eli hoped against hope that his lie was believable. To blow his cover now would be to loose this time with his mother... The free range to talk about whatever topic he desired, even the sore subject of his birth.

Luckily, Elizabeth just put her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and made no more sound. Eli, too, drifted into sleep.

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Bill was on the verge of insanity.

"Just think!" he wailed to the careless ocean waves, bottle of rum in hand, "I could be captured by Emerson, locked in a cell with my mum and untroubled with having to rescue anyone! But NO, my brother had to be noble and- what's that?"

Bill blinked, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again. A ship was pulling up to the Black Pearl. A ship Bill recognized.

"JACK!" Bill cried frantically, "A SHIP!"

Jack Sparrow came up beside Bill. "I don't believe it. Not too many ships have the guts to approach the Black Pearl."

Bill shook his head, pointing at the boat enthusiastically. "Do you realize who that is?!"

"Sure as hell isn't Emerson, the sails are too clean."

"No! THAT'S MY DAD!"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "William?"

"Aye!"

Jack turned and started to walk away. "Now things are getting interesting."

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"AHOY!"

In no time Will's ship had caught the Black Pearl, and the Turner men were reunited. Bill hurriedly told his father how he had ended up on Eli's ship.

Will was beside himself. "I thought Emerson had gotten you," he shook his head, "Wait, how did you and Eli end up with Jack Sparrow?"

"You see, Eli is Jack's son." Bill explained, omitting the other half of Eli's parentage.

Jack suddenly appeared behind Will. "Hullo, Bootstrap."

Will turned. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I just heard the news about your son."

Jack misunderstood. He thought Will just discovered the tidings of his wife's OTHER son. He cleared his throat. "So then, no hard feelings, right mate? I mean, someone had to get to Elizabeth first. I just happened to be there when she was really drunk…"

"What are you talking about?" William asked. Bill waved his arms around frantically from behind him, trying to get Jack to shut up.

"I'm talking about Eli! Don't worry, no one else knows about his mother. He looks more like me than her."

"His mother? Anna Maria?" Will guessed.

"Of course not Anna Maria! Weren't we just talking about-" Jack stopped abruptly, realizing that Will had no clue. "Oh…"

Will turned to his son and demanded, "What's going on?"

Bill looked away. "You see… Eli was inclined to help me find Mum because he's… He's my brother."

Will blinked, then laughed. "That's impossible! Elizabeth and I only had you!"

"Well, YOU may only have one child, but Mum has two."

"If Eli is Elizabeth's son, then his father would have to be…" Will whirled around, a look of pure shock on his face. His gaped at Jack. "NO!"

Jack raised his hands in a usual Sparrow pose. "Surprise?"

"NO!" Will shouted, then pulled out his gun. "I'll kill you!"

Bill was about to intervene when Jack pulled out his own pair of pistols. "It happened a long time ago, mate." He said very seriously. "On the island where Barbossa marooned us. Nine months later, Elizabeth was landed with a son. When given the choice between him and a life with you, she chose you. She gave me Eli to name and raise, and never spoke to either of us again. You're the lucky one here, Bootstrap. You're the one who holds Elizabeth's heart."

Will lowered his gun, and Jack followed. For the longest time the only sound heard was the ocean waves pounding against the ship.

"Tell me more about Eli." Will said at last.

"He really does look just like Jack." Bill said. "And he's a good pirate. A good man."

"I suppose Emerson is going to need Eli's blood, too. If the curse is to be lifted, that is." Will said with a nod.

"Emerson had both my son and your wife." Said Jack. "For what I hear, Eli tricked Emerson into thinking he is Elizabeth's only son."

"How'd he manage to do that? Emerson knows all about me." Will said.

"Well, what she didn't know is that William Turner is a eunuch."

Bill let out a small laugh, but then covered it with a cough. Will blinked for a moment at Jack, then choose to ignore his last comment. "Fine then. As long as Bill's safe, everything's fine. How are we going to go about rescuing Elizabeth and Eli?"

Jack leaned against his ship's railing, looking out into the ocean. "We can save them, that's for sure. Emerson's cursed lot is no match for our combined crew. But that's not what worries me. They'll all have children, for ages they'll keep coming after the Swann bloodline until all of them are dead. The only way we can stop this from happening is by slaughtering Emerson's entire crew…"

"Or by lifting the curse." Bill said hopelessly.

"The curse…" Jack repeated. His eyes suddenly brightened, as if his famous Sparrow inspiration had suddenly struck him. He faced the two Turner men.

"I have an idea."

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Author's Notes:

Short up-date, I know. The next chapter will definately be longer, a battle scene and everything! I can't wait!

By the way, Lisa, thanks for all the reviews... I edited the end of chapter four, thanks for that. I really SHOULD learn to go back and READ what I write! Aye, aye...

(Sea Turtles? Aye, Sea Turtles!)

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