Chapter Five: We're leaving now.

A/N: Just to let ya'll know, if anyone cares or would like to read it, I have my short novel that I'm working on posted over on It's at: ?storyid1713321 if you'd like to read it. If you do, please leave me a review of what you think about it, ne? I always appreciate ya'll's reviews :)

"They're sayin' yer too young, Jack."

"They're sayin' 'ey need a new leader."

"They're sayin' yer too weak, Jack. They're talkin' 'bout the East India incident..."

"They're sayin' yer young an' foolish, Jack... We're sayin' ye ain't fit to be cap'n any longer..."

Jack felt as if everything were crashing around him. He couldn't breathe and he could barely see strait. Barbossa was holding a pistol aimed at him and Ana was quite possibly dead. Too many things had happened. Wasn't this supposed to be simple? Wasn't he supposed to be able to waltz in and take the treasure – in which he had convinced himself was now rightfully his because he had taken back the ship which had stolen it in the first place – and leave as simple as that. Wasn't it supposed to go something like that?

"They're sayin' ye don' deserve 'er, Jack. Ye best be watchin' yer back, lad."

"JACK!" Will's panicked voice brought him into action as he forced himself to move, avoiding the bullet only by mere inches. The pirate captain tumbled to the ground and rolled out of the way.

"You can't run forever, Jack," Barbossa drawled, looking down at the all ready injured pirate. He gave an evil grin. "Ye're through, lad."

"No..." Jack managed through gritted teeth. "I won'..."

"Ye know wha's gonna 'appen, don' ye, Jack? Ye know 'ow yer gonna find 'er."

"Shut up," the pirate captain growled.

"Some scars never 'eal, do they, Jack?" Barbossa continued to taunt. "Some scars stay with ye. Do ye trust 'er, lad? Yer mistakes always did tend to repeat themselves. Ye trusted far too much."

"It's the coward's way to strike a man that was all ready injured," Will said as the tip of his sword touched Barbossa's back. In all of his taunts, the other pirate had forgotten about the young man.

"Ye say so, whelp?"

"I do."

"An' yer gonna do somethin' 'bout it?"

"I could run you through."

"Problem with tha', whelp. Ye can't kill me."

"But I can try," Will growled as he thrust the sword through the pirate.

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Jack took the chance that he could to stumble away, searching for his first mate. "Ana?" he called quietly as he limped down the corridor. His chest hurt and he could barely gulp a breath down successfully. It reminded him of the frightening nightmare that had plagued him for nights upon nights. "Ana?" Then he saw her, though thankfully not quite the nightmarish reality that he expected. Yes, Ana was lying on the hard floor with blood on her dark features, but she was breathing when he reached her. Breathing and her pulse was strong.

"Jack?" she mumbled as her eyes fluttered open.

"'allo, luv."

Ana's eyes suddenly became panicked. "Jack... Barbossa, he-"

"Aye, luv, I know."

"Did you win? Is he dead?" Ana asked in a rush.

"Tha's the problem. 'e was dead to begin with." His next sentence was cut off as Will entered the corridor, sword back in its rightful spot and relatively calm.

"We need to leave, now."

"No, really, 'adn't thought 'o tha', thanks, lad."

Will managed a small smirk at the Captain's irritated reply.

"We're going to 'ave to go through the main chamber to leave," Ana said quietly. "What if he's..."

"Then we'll deal with tha' as it comes," Jack assured her as he began to limp towards the way they had come from.

The room was eerily silent as the two pirates and blacksmith walked into it. The only sound was their own boots scraping across the rocky ground and their breaths coming from their slightly open mouths, as if they were waiting for something to jump from the shadows.

And jump something did.

Will let out a startled gasp as the small monkey leapt from the shadows, his teeth bared in what he apparently thought was an intimidating gesture. Ana frowned at the small creature, causing its eyes to widen in a frightened manner and drop what it was holding. Jack eyed the gold. "So tha's the story behind all this. More stolen treasure for its master, eh?"

"Clever li'll thing," Ana muttered.

Her captain flashed a grin. "'course. 'e was named after yer captain, luv."

Ana frowned deeply as she scooped the piece up with a piece of cloth between her hand and it as if she feared that direct contact with the cursed gold might cause her harm. She dropped it into the chest and slid down the pile of gold back to the two men. "That was too easy..."

"Doesn't matter," Will answered. "We can't kill him. We should leave and be done with it."

"Won't 'e come after us?"

"Has he before?" the blacksmith pointed out. "He's bound here by that very curse that has brought him back from his grave. Here he will stay."

Jack nodded in agreement. "Then let's get movin', eh?" he said with a slight smile. He took one step towards the schooner and his bad ankle failed him as he pitched forward into darkness, Ana and Will's voices echoing somewhere in his escaping consciousness.

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A/N: I am sooooooo sorry, everyone. I know it's been forever since I updated. School has gotten absolutely insane. I have been near total exhaustion for several weeks now and the work load just keeps piling up. Oh, and kudos to anyone who can pick out the Sleepy Hollow quote that I put in there!

Rose Noire le Mort: Hehe... Almosts...

JackFan2: The whole story was supposed to be about a cave in and originally it was just a short story, but somehow it expanded into this and Ana was added into it. That seems to happen a lot... Sorry I didn't use the holidays to work on this... Should have, but didn't. Now it's almost done. Just the ending chapter to go!

Dawnie-7: Glad to hear you like it! More to come but only one more chappy I think

Lynx Ryder: I SOOOO need to go catch up on your story. I haven't had time for reading much of anything!! I've barely gotten this written. Yes, I do tend to hurt poor Jack, but he lives, always lives, until he dies someday that is

Kungfuchick: Ummm... I already had the Jack saving Ana in the bar one. It was in... goodness... what story was it... The one about Jack and Ana meeting. "What freedom truly is" that's it!

Meowface: Just call me the queen of cliffhangers lol. I don't mean to torture you! Sorry!!

Celebrean: Yeah, they've been short b/c I have no time.... Literally... no time on my hands at all. Sorry