The cave was cold and dark, sending a shiver down Will's spine. As soon as he felt it, he glanced over at Jack to see if the pirate felt it as well. Apparently he hadn't, as he continued to row steadily. Will turned back around and huddled around the long pole on which the lantern sat, a slightly jealous expression on his face. He'd never expressed his thoughts on the matter before, too embarrassed to tell Jack. The pirate always seemed cool, calm, and collected. He was ready to handle any situation quickly and intelligently. Will both respected and envied him for that. While most boys grew up idoling their fathers or other prominant idols in their towns, he had grown up idoling a pirate. Part of him still wanted to deny that, his mother's teachings of propriety still stuck with him after all these years.

"You're awfully quiet back there." Jack said finally, his voice loud enough for Will to catch but low enough so that it didn't bounce of the walls of the cavern and give Barbossa's crew warning. He glanced over his shoulder, looking at the hunched back of the younger man curled around the light pole, knees up past his shoulders. Jack raised an eyebrow, wondering exactly what was on his mind. The last time he was this quiet for days, he had disappeared into parts unknown and wandered back a few days later. Jack never had found out just where it was he went. He faced the rear of the small boat again, listening to the paddles dip into the water at a steady rhythm. No hurry getting to where they were going. He was still working out the basics of a plan in his head, trying to figure out how two men could stand against a crew of cursed men.

"Just thinking." Will said quietly, shifting in his seat and causing the boat to rock slightly. The lantern swung in it's hook, the creaking rather loud to the ears of both men. Once it had died down, Jack could here a faint voice in the distance. His eyes narrowed and his grip increased on the handles of the paddles. He knew Barbossa's voice and hated it with a passion. He knew Will heard it to because he could almost feel the boy's body stiffen, his breath hushed.

"Ah, so you're trying thinking instead of acting rashly this time, eh?" Jack forced himself to light heartedly reply, to try and take both their minds of the task that lay ahead for the moment. "We'll make a decent pirate out of you yet, I suppose."

"I suppose..." His voice was distant, as if he hadn't even heard what Jack said. There was obviously something more that he wasn't telling Jack. His mood was starting to irritate the pirate. He couldn't be depressed when they had such a large task ahead of them.

"You already know how to cheat, steal, lie, and charm your way out of a situation if need be." Jack continued. "And you've even started developing an obsession with treasure." He glanced back over his shoulder to see if he was right. A smirk appeared on his face as Will glanced over his shoulder, caught Jack looking, and quickly faced forward again.

"I am not obsessed with treasure." He replied, lifting the light higher. The shore was revealed not too far off, sand glinting under the light like diamonds. Jack looked thoughtful for a moment, analyzing his response. Yes, he was obsessed with treasure, although not of the gold and silver type, but he doubted that was what was on his mind at the moment.

"Not to mention developing a drive for revenge." Jack said offhandedly. That was it, what was bothering his younger counterpart. "Barbossa is mine, boy. I understand that you want him to pay for what he did to your father, but I..."

"I couldn't kill him if the opportunity presented itself." Will interrupted quietly. "I couldn't kill him in cold blood, not even to take revenge for my father." He wrung his hands around the pole, taking in a deep breath. "I know he murdered my father and marooned you and may have killed many innocent people, but I can't kill him in cold blood."

"Then you're a good man still." Jack reassured him, slipping into one of his rare, serious moments. He continued moving the oars in the rhythm he had fallen into. The voices from the cavern were growing louder. He wondered if they'd still be cheering when the curse was lifted and Jack took back what was rightfully his. Make no mistake about it, Jack would take Barbossa's life. After all, the man had been quite happy to take Jack's by leaving him on that island. The curse on his crew and him was only a small dosage of the comeuppance he would receive. When he broke the curse, they would all get their mortality back, would know what it was like to fear death again.

Jack faltered in his rowing rhythm, making the boat drift slightly. He suddenly felt very cold as he realized for the first time that Bill might not be dead. Instead he was trapped beneath the depths of the ocean, the pressure threatening to collapse in on him and would do so once the curse was lifted. Once the curse was lifted by the blood of his own son. Will was going to be the one to kill his father, not Barbossa.

"What's wrong?" Jack glanced over his shoulder at Will again, the boy peering at him through the small amount of light pouring from the lantern.

"Nothing." He said, pulling back the oars and dipping them into the water again, trying to find his rhythm. He faced towards the rear again, hiding the expression on his face. He would never tell him.

The boat hit the sandy shore and Will got out, sticking the lantern pole in the sand and pulling the boat forward onto the beach. Jack climbed out as well, making sure the pistol and sword were still firmly tucked in his belt. He nodded his head towards the small pathway, flickering light dancing on the walls from the torches within the cavern. They slowly made their way through the pathway and out behind a group of rocks, watching the scene taking place.

Jack frowned, taking in the crew standing all around the mound of treasure that stood towards the center of the cavern. Barbossa was there, holding onto the wrist of the governor's daughter and holding the knife right above. He smirked at Barbossa's mistake. It was Jack who had the key to breaking the curse and what a bargaining chip it was. Will seemed oblivious, his body tensing as if he were about to spring. Jack put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, motioning for him to wait. Will frowned but did as he was told, facing forward again. They could only watch as Barbossa drew the blade across Elizabeth's hand and slapped the coin down, forcing her to drop it. She gave him some resistance before letting it drop into the chest.

"That's not going to do it, mate..." Jack whispered with unhidden glee, watching as they began to realize that it hadn't worked. It took much of his restraint to keep from laughing when the frustrated pirate pulled out his pistol and put a new hole in Pintel.

"He shot me!"

"Aye, and too bad it didn't kill you." Jack muttered under his breath. It would've been one less person that he would've had to face. Barbossa's frustration was rising, so much that he slapped Elizabeth. Jack knew that the boy would respond negatively to that and reached out to grab his arm before he did something stupid. It was too late for that, however, as Jack grabbed air and spun around. Will was nowhere in sight, leaving him alone in their hiding place. He turned back to the scene before him again, searching over the crowd. A quarrel had broken out, making a nice distraction. His gaze paused as he saw a disturbance in the small stream that ran through the cavern.

"Bloody whelp..." Jack growled, tensing. What was he supposed to do now? When they got back to the ship, he was going to have a talk with the boy about respecting his elders. For the moment, he stayed where he was, mind quickly turning over ways that he could use this to his advantage.

Meanwhile, Will had reached Elizabeth. He climbed out of the water, kneeling next to her and lightly shaking her shoulder. A small groan escaped her lips and her eyes fluttered open. She almost shouted in surprise, but he quickly put a hand over her mouth. Her hand wrapped around his arm and a look of relief crossed her face. He removed his hand from her mouth.

"Thank God you're here." She whispered.

"We're going to get you out of here." He whispered back, trying to move her towards the stream again. "Come with me." In his haste, his foot slipped on some of the wet coins and they fell into the water. The sound was just enough to attract Barbossa's attention. He turned, his eyes narrowing.

"Just what do you think you're doing, boy?" He snapped. "Seems we have ourselves a hero." He raised his voice. The sounds of arguing died down and the men began to climb the pile of treasure. Will put his arm protectively around Elizabeth, pulling his pistol out with the other.

"Stay where you are. No harm will come to this girl." He said firmly, barely able to keep the shaking out of his voice. His comment was met with raucous laughter.

"You can't kill us!" Barbossa laughed. "We're cursed, boy. We can't die!" The pistol faltered in Will's hand and he looked to Elizabeth, an expression of fear and failure on his face.

Jack felt his stomach clench as he watched the scene. This wasn't the way things were supposed to happen. He curled his fingers into fists, fingernails biting into the skin of his palm, wracking his brain for something to do. A diversion, at the least.

His gaze settled on an opening in the cavern wall not too far away. It wasn't the one they had come in and probably led farther into the cave. After a few moments debate, he stood up and hopped over the rocks, landing nosily among the coins and other golden treasures.

"Barbossa!" He called, his voice echoing through the cavern. The laughter stopped, men turning towards the voice. Barbossa turned as well and paused, a frown crossing his face. It wasn't possible.

"You..." He growled. "How did you...never mind. Finish him off, boys!" He snarled, waving at Jack. The order was like releasing blood thirsty dogs after a lone rabbit. The pirates scrambled down the hill towards Jack, a few staying behind to deal with Will and Elizabeth.

Jack took the mass pouring towards him quite well. "You'll have to catch me first!" He yelled mockingly at Barbossa and turned, sprinting towards the entrance of the dark pathway. The pirates rushed after him, howling and shouting curses in his direction, waving cutlasses and aiming pistols. Pistol shot hit the rock around his head as he made it through the entryway and into the dark.

Barbossa watched until they were out of sight before turning back. "Now what to do with you..." He trailed off, looking at the small, sheepish crew that had stayed with him. "Where are they?"

"Took off sir." Ragetti said quietly, backing away so that it wouldn't be he who would be on the receiving end of the captain's anger. The other men backed away as well, out of reach. Barbossa glared down at the spot where the young man had been and slowly moved his gaze forward to yet another of the openings into the cavern.

"Follow them." He said in a cold voice, looking back at the crew. When they didn't move, his temper flared. "Did you not hear me? I told you to follow them!" He shouted. The reaction was immediate this time. They scrambled down the hill and jumped into the stream to cross. Barbossa stayed on top of the hill for a moment, rubbing his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. An image of the young man flashed in front of his eyes.

"We sent you to the depths..." He muttered to himself. "How can it be that you're..." A look of understanding crossed his face and he turned to face his men, who were just about to disappear out of his sight into the dark pathway. "I want the boy brought back alive." He called to them, a deadly smile crossing his face.

"We're going to need Bootstrap's son to break the curse."

-------------

"They've been in there a long time." Gibbs muttered quietly. The only person to hear him was Anamaria, standing by his side and rubbing her arms. It really wasn't cold out now that the sun had risen high in the sky, but just being in the lagoon of the famed Isle de Muerta was giving her goosebumps. It seemed as if the cheerfulness of the sun didn't reach the ship, cut off by something unseen on the island. She turned to gaze at him, her expression unreadable. Gibbs turned to look at her as well. For a moment, they were quiet before turning back to look at the entrance of the cave.

"We have three choices." She said finally, placing her hands on the rail. "We follow the code and leave him behind before Barbossa and his crew come out and kill us in the same way they killed those two. Our second choice would be to keep waiting anyway and hope Jack has won. Our last choice would be to send someone in to see what's keeping them so long." She took a deep breath. "Each choice involves a lot of risk, but we wouldn't be pirates if we didn't take the risks, would we?"

For a moment, Gibbs smiled at the question, but it disappeared as soon as it had come. "By all rights, we should be obeying the code. What do we owe Jack in a way of speaking?" He leaned against the rail and glanced over his shoulder to where the crew was busying themselves with random tasks or had disappeared below decks to rifle through the Navy's supplies and take anything they found of value.

Anamaria was silent, still staring at the gaping maw of the cave and the darkness within. For a moment, she returned to her childhood where her grandmother would take Anamaria on her lap and tell her stories of ghosts and goblins, fairies and elves, all the mystical wonders of the world. She remembered in particular the one about the troll that lived in the cave and would eat the curious children that had wandered in. A boy in her village had been found dead in a cave and she had refused to come out for days, afraid that the troll would get her too, until her grandmother had laughed and assured the young girl that it was nothing more than a story.

Her fingers dug into the railing and she bit her lip. Gibbs was right. What really did they owe Jack? She knew an answer to that but it was one she could never voice. Instead she turned towards Gibbs again, a determined expression on her face. "I'm taking a boat into the caves." She told him. "Code be damned. We're pirates. We break the rules." She saw the look on her face and quickly made a cover for herself. "I'm going in because we want Jack to win. If Barbossa does, then there will be no place for any other pirate crew on these seas. He'll make sure of that." Gibbs didn't seem entirely convinced of that but he called for a few of the crew to lower one of the boats anyway.

Anamaria gathered her pistol and borrowed a sword from one of the crew, not wanting to go in there with not but a shot to keep her safe. She climbed down into the boat and picked up the oars, preparing to push away from the ship and row towards the mouth of the cave. Suddenly the boat shifted violently beneath her and she turned away from watching the mouth of the cave to see Gibbs sitting in the other end of the boat, unscrewing the cap of the flask and taking a long drink. She raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but smile.

He caught her look, quickly screwing the cap back on the flask and giving her a dark look. "We all have our reasons." He said. "Jack's been nothin' but a kind friend to me even if he did nearly drown me in a pig pit." He muttered. "What I'm trying to say is I'm comin' with you whether you like it or not." Anamaria laughed, almost relieved she wasn't going in alone.

"Did you honestly think I was going to say no?"

--------

"Bloody."

Stomp.

"Stupid."

Stomp stomp.

"Whelp!"

The third word of his outraged diatribe came out a little louder than he expected and echoed through the dark tunnel. Not that he cared at the moment. It was most likely that Barbossa's crew was just as lost in the passages as he was. The pirate scowled at the darkness ahead of him and paused, listening for any voices. There was a faint murmuring somewhere off to his right. He was hoping that a small group would come his way so he could grab a torch and run, but so far his luck wouldn't even seem to let him have that. Instead he thrust his hands out to his sides, feeling for the walls again. Between shuffling his feet and feeling for the walls, he'd managed not to fall down at least two rather large holes and off the side of a ledge.

In the time that had passed, he'd come up with a reasonable amount of ways he could get back at the lad for his stupidity. Horrible, humiliating ways for forcing Jack to come to his rescue and then spend a good amount of time wandering around blindly in a cave passageway with the enemy on his tail. There was only one way he would forgive him and that would be if he were to get Jack's beloved Pearl back, but he didn't see THAT happening any time soon.

He paused in the dark of the tunnel, going eerily still as he heard a new noise. The light patter of feet against the ground and the harsh intake of breath. It was growing louder.

And heading straight for him.

Jack grunted as whatever it was slammed into him, sending him sprawling backwards onto the hard packed floor. It landed on top of him, knocking the wind from his lungs and leaving him gasping on the floor for air. As he dragged breaths back in, he tried to push whoever had fallen on top of him off. On his second attempt, he put his hands on the person's chest and shoved. A hand whipped down and smacked him across the face, although this slap was near his eye, the slapper unable to see in the darkness.

"Pirate." Jack recognized the voice of the governor's daughter immediately. He removed his hands from her chest immediately and laid back against the sand. She hadn't got off of him quite yet so he couldn't go anywhere.

"Miss Swann." He said by way of greeting. Suddenly Elizabeth's hand was on his face, feeling around. Jack swatted her hand away, and getting sick of waiting for her to move off of him, shoved her off and got to his feet, dusting himself off.

"Mr. Turner? Jack Turner?" Elizabeth had gotten up as well, a note of hope in her voice. "I'm so glad to see someone familiar!" There was a moment of silence as it clicked in her brain. "And may I ask just what you're doing here?" Her tone had become suspicious and Jack could almost see her standing there, hands planted on her hips in that ridiculously overdone dress Barbossa had most likely given her.

"You had it right the first time, Miss Swann." He wished he could've seen her voice in that moment. "I'm a bloody pirate." He could see the faint outline of her body tense, knowing she was debating if she should keep running or stay as Jack didn't seem to be part of Barbossa's crew nor did he seem to wish harm to her. "I'm not one of them before you think of doing something stupid." He told her and started down the passage again, arms out to his side.

Elizabeth watched him disappearing for a moment before she rushed forward and curled her fingers into his belt. He may have been a blasted pirate, but right now he didn't seem intent on harming her, nor did he seem to have any love or loyalty for Barbossa, so she followed him. Her choices in the matter were very few as it were and she didn't wish to be left behind. If she was going to be lost and miserable, she wouldn't be alone in doing it.

"Where's the boy?" Jack glanced over his shoulder at her. She glanced back to him, fingers still clutching tightly at his belt.

"I-I don't know." She told him finally. "We ran into the passageway and were separated." Now it was her turn to ask a question. "Is he truly your brother?" She asked him, peering at his face, eyes narrowing slightly.

Jack shook his head. "No brother of mine would act as William does." He said with a smirk on his face. "To answer your question, we are not. More of a father to the boy than anything else, if you could call it that."

"So he is a pirate as well..." Was that dismay that Jack heard in her voice? He believed it was. The lovely Miss Swann had thought she had fallen for a simple blacksmith and found him to be a scallywag instead. Now all she needed was to find out that he was quite smitten with her as well.

"Aye, he's a pirate or close enough. Found the boy when he was not but a whelp and he's been with me ever since." He turned to face her. Elizabeth forgot to let go of his belt and was swung around. She quickly let go as Jack turned to look at her again. "He's taken quite a liking to you, Elizabeth."

"It's Miss Swann." She replied haughtily, but made no comment on what else Jack had said. Instead, she reached forward and started searching around his belt. Jack stared at her in the darkness.

"What are you doing?" He said, grabbing at her hands. She slapped his hands away in response but that never stopped him. The eventual result was a hand slapping war as the two fought. Suddenly Elizabeth cried out in victory and held up his flask. Jack snatched at it and she pulled back from him.

"I'll ask you again. What are you doing?" Jack growled as Elizabeth got down on her hands and knees, feeling along the floor for something.

"I just nearly tripped over it earlier..." Elizabeth said thoughtfully. Jack heard a clacking sound, one eyebrow raising. The next sound was a loud rip. A moment later, he heard the horrifying sound of liquid being spilled out.

"No! What are you doing? Not good!" He waved his hands in the darkness, forgetting that she couldn't see him and stumbled towards her, trying to feel her out. Instead he walked right past her, the toe of his boot hitting the empty flask. He snatched it up and tilted it downwards over his mouth. Not a single drop came out.

Why is all the rum gone?" He forgot about being quiet for the moment at the expense of showing just how outraged he was that she had committed this crime. His raised voice didn't seem to bother her any, or at least not that she could tell.

There was a sigh somewhere in the darkness. "One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels." Her voice grew heated. "Two, rum burns well and could provide us with light."

Jack was silent for a moment before giving a response to that explanation. "But why is all the rum gone?" His answer was a frustrated sigh and a few other sounds he couldn't identify. Suddenly a fire sprang into existence, illuminating their surroundings slightly.

"Come along." She said and turned, heading down the passageway again. Jack stared at her for a moment before pulling out his pistol. Ransom be damned, this woman was getting on his nerves. As he pointed it at her, however, he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger as the little voice in his head reminded him that the shot was for Barbossa and Barbossa only.

He tucked it back into his belt angrily and started after her.

-----------

The voices never seemed to fade behind him. Will didn't know how long he had been running, but he was exhausted. Knees threatened to give way and spill him onto the ground as he stumbled along. His breath came out in ragged gasps as he fought to keep going and draw more air in. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and fell forward onto his knees, leaning up against the wall. It felt cold beneath his cheek, comforting.

He wondered where Jack was right now. He hadn't meant to do this but had acted on impulse rather than thinking. Just like the heroes in the stories in the books he would read back when he was a young boy in England. He felt a stab of pain in his heart, thinking about his mother. She'd done so much just to see that he had gotten a proper education, clothes on his back, and food to eat and he repaid her this way. Becoming a pirate. No, not a pirate. Jack was a pirate. He was no more than a lowly thief.

Now where was the self pity coming from? He closed his eyes and shook his head. If he went by the theory that he had failed his mother, then he could argue he'd made his father proud. Neither one seemed to make much sense and he passed it off as his tired mind leaping to conclusions that made no sense.

Finding a hand hold, he pulled himself to his feet. He was still unsteady, knees shaking, but his breathing had returned to normal. The voices had grown even louder in the time that he had been sitting. He could even distinguish words now.

"Have you found them?"

"No sign of the boy or the girl." There was the sharp sound of flesh hitting against flesh.

"Then don't stop until you've found them." Will's heart sped up in his chest, although this time it wasn't from running. Elizabeth was still out there! He had to find both Jack and her now. He winced at that thought. Jack would surely teach him a lesson after this whole incident was done and he shuddered to think what punishment he would be handed. Last time he'd made Jack angry, the pirate had not hesitated to make him eat on the floor of a crowded tavern like a dog. His face flushed red at the memory and he started to run along the passageway again. Whatever the punishment would be, he would take it if it meant they were out of this situation. He glanced over his shoulder to see the light hitting the wall. They had been closer than he'd thought.

He never saw the light on the wall in front of him. He slammed into another person and fell backwards, hitting the ground. Slowly he glanced up to see the leering pirate over him, pistol trained on an unseen target on his forehead. "I've found him!" The pirate shouted gleefully. "I've found the whelp."

Will's lips curled into a snarl at the word 'whelp.' He hated it with a passion. Jack very seldom used it and only when he was furious with the young thief, but even then he was quite aware of how degraded it made him feel. He fought the urge to push himself to his feet and slam a fist into that grin, but not at the risk of a pistol shot in the forehead. Instead he laid there, hearing more footsteps and seeing the pirates come around the bend.

He closed his eyes tightly, swallowing, feeling like a child that had failed his father.

"I'm sorry, Jack."