"Treasure Can Be Misleading"

"The Curse Is Lifted"

Chapter 4

"What's all this then?" A voice broke the tense moment between Arcelia and Jack.

Barbossa was back.

Quickly, but smoothly, Jack swaggered over to a random pile of treasure and began examining a small gold statuette.

"Turns out you're a hard man to predict, Jack," Barbossa said with a smirk, obviously wanting to forget about what he had just seen.

"Me? I'm dishonest, honestly.  It's the honest ones you've got to watch out for," Jack tossed the golden statuette aside, then slowly walking towards Barbossa. "Because you can never predict… when they're going to do something… incredibly stupid," he added as he came to stand behind one of the pirates, who at the moment was preoccupied with skipping stones.

Arcelia looked intensely at Jack, knowing he was about to do something incredibly stupid and clever.  She was right.  For the next moment, Jack withdrew the word from the inept pirate's sheath, kicked him into the water, and tossed Arcelia a sword as well.

         A new battle then took place.  Jack rushed for Barbossa, engaging in a sword bout, while Arcelia took on the other two pirates.

         "You're an idiot!" Arcelia called out to Jack, kicking the taller pirate in the stomach to knock him back.

Jack crossed swords with Barbossa, briefly holding him at bay.

"Let's save the sweet talk for later, luv," Jack replied to Arcelia, immediately re-entering his fight with Barbossa.

"You're off the edge of the map now, mate.  Here there be monsters," Barbossa hissed, pushing Jack back a bit and increasing his offensive.

*~*~*~*~*

         Meanwhile, Elizabeth had escaped her captivity aboard The Dauntless and had made her way by rowboat to The Black Peal.  She stealthily made her way across the deck, being careful not to make any cause for alarm to the two pirates below deck.  While on her way towards the door, the cursed skeletal pet monkey of Barbossa appeared from out of nowhere and screeched terrifically at Elizabeth.  But she wasn't afraid.  She knocked the monkey aside, watching it fly overboard and into the sea.  This wasn't as smart a move as she'd hoped, for the two pirates below heard the commotion and were rushing up to investigate the noise.  Elizabeth ran down the steps to the lower deck and quickly hid behind a post until the pirates had gone by.  She then continued down, coming upon the captured crew and her beloved Will.

         "Miss Elizabeth!" Gibbs called to her, motioning for her to come near.

She did of course, immediately going to Will.

         "How can I get you out?" she asked, grabbing hold of the bars and shaking them.

         "The keys are on the nail there," Ana Maria pointed to the post across from them.

But just as Elizabeth had reached them, the two menacing pirates came back down and now had ugly evil grins upon their faces as they spotted Elizabeth.

*~*~*~*~*

         The battles between Barbossa and Jack went on, now having made its way up a little hill near a spot of moonlight.

         "You can't beat me Jack," Barbossa said, pausing the fight for a moment.

Jack then took this opportunity to, stupidly, plunge his sword into Barbossa's belly.  Barbossa just sighed, shaking his head at jack's fool attempt to hurt him.  He then pulled the sword back out and stuck it into Jack instead.  Jack groaned, stumbling backwards.  Arcelia looked up in fear to see the sword point protruding from Jack's back.  Jack stumbled back into the ray of moonlight, his flesh magically melted away so only his bones and ragged strips of clothing were left.  He looked down at himself, not nearly as surprised by this as Barbossa and Arcelia were.

         "That's interesting," he said to himself, waving his hand before his eyes with interest.

Jack then brought the enchanted gold coin out from nowhere and began twirling it about his fingers.

         "Couldn't resist, mate," he smiled at Barbossa, flipping the coin back to its unknown hiding place on his person.

With a quick hand, Jack pulled the sword from out of him and re-engaged in the fight with Barbossa.

They were evenly matched, both immortal and skilled swordsman.  But Arcelia's fight, on the other hand, was more one-sided than a tie.  She was mortal, while her opponents were not.

         One of the pirates lit a bomb and flung it at Arcelia, causing her to be blown aside and onto a pile of particularly sharp treasure.  A stinging pain in her side made her look down to find a fresh deep cut carved into her skin.  The bomber pirate stood over her, grinning menacingly.

         "I'll teach you the meaning of pain!" he threatened, raising his sword in ready.

He brought it down, Arcelia rolling to the side in effort to get out of the way.  But it didn't work as well as she'd hoped.  With a cry of pain, he glanced over to find the blade stuck through her left arm.

Jack looked to her, a slight look of worry in his eyes.  But he had no time to go to her, for he would never surrender to Barbossa.

Arcelia slowly reached over and pulled the sword from its place and then struggled to get to her feet, but fell down to her knees from the intensifying pain.

Just then, the bomber pirate was knocked off his feet and into the water by a large golden staff.

         "You all right?"

Arcelia looked up to find Will's and Elizabeth's faces looking down at her.

         "Just move!" she shouted at them, standing up through the pain and making her way up to the large stone chest.

Will and Elizabeth let her go, now taking over the difficult task of fighting the relentless immortal pirates.

Meanwhile, Jack and Barbossa were still clashing swords and neither of them were willing to surrender to the other.  The sound of a bomb exploding cause Barbossa to pause to see what had happened.  Jack took the moment to place the coin in his hand and produce a cut with his sword.  He glanced up at the chest, noticing Arcelia kneeling beside it and then tossed it up to her.  Barbossa saw what was happening and drew out his gun, taking aim at Will and Elizabeth who were running in their direction.

         A gun shot went off.  But it was not Barbossa's.  Jack's arm was extended toward Barbossa, smoke coming from the barrel of his gun.

         "Ten years you've been carrying that pistol, and now you waste your shot," Barbossa smiled, thinking he'd won.

         "He didn't waste it," Arcelia's voice came from atop the treasure hill.

The coin was clenched in her hand, her blood staining it.  She then let go, the coin falling into the chest.  The curse was lifted.

         Barbossa looked down at his chest, pulling his shirt open to reveal the bullet hole seeping with blood.  He looked up at Jack with a smile of disbelief.

         "I feel…" his body now wobbling a bit. "Cold," he whispered as he fell back onto the pile of treasure, his sick yellowed eyes staring upwards at the leaky cavern wall.

Will and Elizabeth came to face one another, while Jack reluctantly jumped up the hill to see to Arcelia.  There was treasure about, and he wasn't really wanting divert from it.  But since it was Arcelia, he made an exception.

         "Jack," she murmured. "I… I feel so tired," looking down at her blood-soaked shirt.

         "Come on then, let's get you going," he said, putting her good right arm over his shoulder and helping her down the hill.

As they walked by the numerous piles, Jack managed to snag a bit of treasure and place it on his person somehow.  They then came to Will, who as now standing alone as Elizabeth and gone outside.

         "If you were waiting for the opportune moment," Jack said, glancing at the exit.

"That was it," Arcelia finished for him.

"Now if you'd be so kind, I'd be much obliged if you'd drop us off at my ship," Jack asked, meaning him and Arcelia.

Arcelia looked up at him, an expression of puzzlement in her eyes.  She didn't expect him to take her with him, considering how he was.  But this certainly was a pleasant surprise.  Though the next fact of Jack's crew having left with The Pearl came as the much expected bad news.

         The four got into the waiting row boat outside the cave (the one Elizabeth had used to get there) and made their way back to The Dauntless, where an uncertain fate awaited each of them.

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Author's Note ::  And so ends the third chapter of my fanfic.  Liking it so far?  You damn well better be. *shakes fist*  Anywho… the nest chapter is going to concern a little two-on-one time between Jack, Will, and Arcelia. (NO! not like that, ya limey pervs! X° )  So keep a look out for the next chapter and don't forget to R/R on this one.  Savvy? ;)