I got my GCSE results!! 7 As and 3 As! Also, my mum got me Arwen's sword!! Also, we had a fantasy theme party! My friend found me a copy of 'Yo ho, a pirate's life for me', and we played it really loudly in the back garden while fighting with cutlasses! AND we had a treasure hunt! Man, it rocked. Anyway, there may be longer waits between updates now, because I'm going back to school tomorrow and have stupidly taken on an extra subject. Mad. MAD.

Chapter 11 – Plans and Voyages Underway

Tanuki became aware that he was lying down. This realization was closely followed by the deduction that he was on the floor. Slightly more slowly came the realization that the floor he was on was swaying.

"Eos?" he called, eyes still closed.

"Oh, you're up," he heard a none-too-happy voice saying, "Took your time. Why did you have to go and make fun of that pirate about his nose? It's very difficult to escape when your Disney hero is knocked unconscious."

"Are we on their ship?"

"Oh yes. And it's simply lovely, by the way. Modernistic brig décor, with damp rotting wooden panelling, holes in the walls giving a beautiful view of the sea. Oh, and don't let me forget the rats for that extra flourish."

"Rats?" Tanuki was sitting up in an instant. His eyes quickly became adjusted to the semi-darkness which they were in; he saw that they were in the brig of the ship, a small area separated from the rest by metal bars. Sitting on the other side of it, looking thoroughly fed up, was Eos.

"Yes. There." She pointed to outside the cell. Several rats were standing just inside the lamplight, watching them with interest.

"Great! I have experience with rodents," said Tanuki excitedly.

"Rodents?" said Eos, staring.

"Well, ferrets mainly. Do you have any food on you?" He checked his own pockets, and found them empty except for a few biscuit crumbs in the bottom. Quickly he dropped them on the ground. The rats hesitated for a few seconds, but then walked slowly towards them, noses twitching curiously. Tanuki didn't move, and Eos didn't look as though she'd move towards those rats if he paid her. Seeming to decide that Tanuki could be trusted, they picked up the crumbs with their teeth and scampered away in a dark corner of the hold.

"And the point of that was..." asked Eos.

"Making friends," said Tanuki, sitting back down against the cell. Suddenly a thought struck him, and he checked his pockets again. The bead fairies were gone. "Damn! Did they-"

"They took mine too," said Eos.

"So that's four gold beads they've recovered already..."

"Can I ask who you are?" said Eos, watching Tanuki from across the cell, "You seemed to know Miss Diana well enough. You just turn up, start fighting..."

"Did she ever tell you where she went when she vanished for those few weeks with her sister?" asked Tanuki.

"Yes - she was captured by pirates, wasn't she?"

"Not exactly." Tanuki explained to her everything that had happened last time; how Jack had brought the ship to Rum Island, how Diana and Hanna had given them money in exchange for being allowed to join the crew, about their adventures when they were recovering the Big Pink Pretty albeit Cursed Diamond, and how Diana had returned with the others to give Jack a chance to escape. Eos looked amazed at the start, but by the end, she was stopping looking surprised.

"Should have known," she said when he finished, "How many other debutantes keep swords under their beds? Except for this Elizabeth person. She sounds pretty superfluous, actually."

"She's not bad," said Tanuki.

"So... you and Miss Diana," asked Eos curiously, "Are you – you know? Promised?"

Tanuki looked up at her, startled. "Not yet! We've only known each other for a few weeks!"

"Ah," said Eos quickly, "All right then." Something about the way she said it made Tanuki uneasy.

"What?"

"Well... I heard Miss Diana's parents talking about various marriage possibilities a couple of nights ago, as it were. Seems that having their daughters kidnapped for a brief while made them aware of how valuable they were seen throughout the Caribbean. Just saying, you may have some competition, and I'm sure Miss Diana's parents would prefer some wealthy plantation owner to – well, a pirate."

Tanuki didn't know what to say. It took a few seconds to realize that there was nothing he could say.

xxx

To say that Will was thrilled about finally being in charge of his own pirate ship would be an understatement. Completely over-the-moon ecstatically ecstatic would be a closer description.

"Jackie, you can go to the crow's nest!" he said eagerly, "Keep an eye out for pirates! Frankie, you can make some tea!"

"Always the bloody tea," muttered Frankie, but went down to the galley.

"And everyone else – uh-" It was then that Will realized that knowing next to nothing about ships was a bit of a drawback when pirating.

"Check the ship through to make sure it's sound?" suggested Mort.

"Yes! Good idea!"

"Take readings to make sure that we're on the right course?" said Helen.

"Also good!"

"Shove Elizabeth in the cannons?" suggested Cirfia hopefully.

"Excellent – WHAT?"

"No, we tried that last time, remember, and she didn't fit," said Kathryn glumly.

"Oh yeah..."

"No," said Will hastily, "Rule number one – no shoving Elizabeth in the cannons."

"Can we throw her overboard?" asked Alex.

"No! No-one is to bring harm to Elizabeth in any way. Right, now Gemma, you have some medical knowledge, you check whether Tobias is recovering OK. Mro, check we're still on course for Port Royal. Everyone else, check this ship from top to bottom in case of leaks, cursed pirate gold, et cetera."

Most of the crew scuttled below decks, eager to check that the ship wasn't about to sink from below them. As they went, Kathryn asked Cirfia a question she'd been wondering for ages.

"Just how many gold beads are there?"

"Twenty," said Cirfia, "You have one, and so do Frankie, Alex, Gemma, Jackie, Tobias, Mort, Mro, Cat, Will and Elizabeth. The pirates have captured Tanuki's, Diana's, Hanna's and Eos's – she had two. I have three. As for the other one, my dad kept it."

"Do you – do you know what happened to your father?" asked Mort.

Cirfia was quiet for a moment. "About a year ago, I was sent the bead fairy with a note from him telling me to split it up. I didn't understand why, but shortly afterwards his body was found on a small island. Next to it was a pistol. Without the one shot."

Silence fell below deck. Cirfia concentrated on lifting barrel lids to check for cursed pirate gold. "I guess Captain Powell caught up with him," she said finally.

"Captain Powell? Is that his name?" asked Helen.

Cirfia nodded. "The gaol in Port Royal never held a man more deserving of the noose. But I suppose he must have taken the bead from him before they left him there."

"So that's six they have already..." said Alex.

"Not to worry, we'll be at Port Royal soon," said Kathryn, "They won't be able to get the beads there."

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Cirfia gloomily, "They already tore the Caribbean apart to collect the seven charms to get into the cave in the first place. You don't think they'd do it again?"

Once again, no-one spoke. "Okeydiddlyden," said Mort finally, "Well, at least we're being optimistic."

xxx

Since they were on the Black Pearl, back with Jack Sparrow in command, the journey to Tortuga didn't take much time. As Jack already had a crew, there wasn't much for the others to do; they spent most of their time talking about their lives before all this, and about what had happened back at Rum Island. Diana was quiet most of the time, thinking about Tanuki. Terreis had come up with an idea for her hand; she had been sharpening the edges of it so that she could wield two weapons at once.

As soon as they arrived at Tortuga, Jack set them all to work. "Mr Gibbs, go and meet as many of your contacts as you can. Tell them what's happening, and persuade as many as you can. Anamaria, you do the same."

"Aye, cap'n," said Anamaria, grinning and walking away into the streets with Mr Gibbs.

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret that," said Jack, to no-one in particular. He turned to the rest of the crew. "Some of you stay with the ship. Try to lighten it, we're going to need to go as fast as we can, and make any necessary repairs. The rest of you, come with me. We're going to the pub."

"Huzzah!" cheered the girls and Jack Cole. They leapt off the ship after him and followed him through the busy streets. People seemed to be making up for a night of attack by spending extra time drinking, as if to make up for lost time.

The pub was also more crowded than usual, and Jack and the others had to fight their way through the throngs of people to the only free table in the place. Actually, to be precise, it wasn't free – there were two old men sitting there, near unconscious. Jack, Jack Cole, Liza and Liz carried them out back and dumped them on the ground. "Let them sleep it off," shrugged Jack when he came back inside, and quickly ordered rum for each of them (much to Hanna's delight).

"What are we here for?" asked Elderberry.

"Well, since Powell's crew has taken to recruiting others, I think it's only fair if we do the same, don't you?" said Jack, "Gibbs and Anamaria have gone off to meet some friends of theirs and ask if they're interested."

"What are we doing here then?" asked Bulma. The Wob-Wob was wandering around the table, and quickly discovered some bread left by the men and started eating it happily.

"I find that some of my life's most helpful experiences have taken place in a pub," said Jack, "So I'm hoping for some miracle to help us with this task."

"Maybe it's because you've spent most of your life in the pub?" suggested Eowyn.

Jack paused. "Maybe so, lass, but still. Who's for a drink?"

xxx

"Port Royal's in sight, Will!" shouted down Jackie.

Everyone scrambled up back on deck and leaned over the side of the ship to see the approaching land. "Excellent!" said Will, "When we arrive, we'll go to the fort and see Norrington."

"I think we should go up to my house first," said Elizabeth, "I could talk to my father. I'm sure Norrington would listen to him more than you – no offence."

"Are you sure your father wouldn't mind you turning up on his doorstep with a motley band of pirates?" said Frankie sceptically.

"Except we won't tell him you're pirates, will we?" said Elizabeth, smiling and raising an eyebrow, "We'll tell him you're the relatives of some plantation owners on another island, travelling to stay with them, but your ship was attacked by pirates. We kindly intervened, and you need a place to stay. He'll suggest the fort, it's supposed to be a sanctuary for any members of the British Empire. And Diana and Hanna, well, you'll just add to the authenticity of our claim – he'll recognize you as the daughters of the Sir Reynolds of Rum Island."

"That is devious, Elizabeth," said Will admiringly, "I never knew you had it in you."

"Jack's been a bad influence," she smiled.

"Right," smiled back Will, then turned to the rest of the crew, "If you're going to pass off as being from wealthy families, you're going to have to smarten up a bit. I know there's not much around, but comb your hair, lose any beads or anything in them – make sure you don't look too much like pirates." He looked up to Jackie. "Did you hear that?"

Jackie didn't answer. She wasn't looking at Port Royal, either – she was looking off on the port side. The others immediately looked as well. "Oh hell," said Mro.

Sailing towards them, coming ever closer, was a ship. A ship with black sails.

xxx

Durn-durn-DURN! By the way, if anyone can think of a pirate name for themselves, do tell me, and I'll try and fit it in. And will try to fit in the funnyness again. (starts searching round head) Helloooo...

Lady Shinimegami – Well, I have a cutlass, and... umm... that's about it. Oh, I've played a pirate in a play and danced around to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. And I'm descended from a navy captain, an explorer AND an outlaw – do they combine to make a pirate?

Tanuki Yasha – Hurrah for plot-type stuff! These plot advancements are necessary. Pity they quash most of the randomness to be had. Ah well.

Cat Youkai – Well, he was certainly very fond of you after that. Cat, Rum-bringer. Hmm, not much of a pirate name though, is it? I'll try and think of a better one.

Im a Brandybuck – Yours sounds better than mine was. Hehe, Jack Sparrow steps. POTC is so cool... Can't wait for the sequel!!! Eeeee!!! I know it's being released next summer at the earliest, but STILL...

Eowyn Skywalker – I tried making a mini-film called 'A Wob-Wob Adventure', which went... weirdly. I'm still thinking about adapting this into a play for my drama club. Could be ex-coi-ting. Insane people will CONQUER! We will enslaaaave all humans! All boring ones, anyway. (mobilizes Wob-Wobs into an army)

Gilraen Ar-Feiniel – Hehehe. Pwetty red cloak. I want Arwen's cloak from ROTK, but would settle for Will's. Hehehe. So pwetty. Sorry, cloaks make me go weird. Almost as much as swords.

Theshiz – Han Solo is incredibly cool. But Jack Sparrow's cooler than him. Actually, they're equal. Or are they? I don't know... I ought to create a top ten cool characters list.

Bev Baudelaire – Aww, thanks! I won't leave yet, don't worry. I'll probably keep putting this story and OFUT and things up here, but put my parodies elsewhere. The links will be on my bio when I get round to putting them up.

Terreis – Apparently they were interactive, real-person based, that sort of thing. Blargh. Glad you like your silver hand.

Freakanature – Thanks! Um... dang, can't think of anything else to say. Well, anyway, thanks!

Reasonably Crazy – Thanks! What do you think about how you're written in it? By the way, saw you submitting a comment on Pippin's World – hurray for random facts!

Alteng – I noticed that similarity. Dang. Hate realizing that an idea I have has already been taken. But then there's that Irish legend about a guy being given a silver arm. So SHE ripped it off first. Tcha. And all out war is right. EXPLOSIONS! WOOT!