Disclaimer: Much to my depression, I own nothing...still. But at least I have fun with it.

Chapter Four: Tight Corsets

"This was a great idea Elizabeth." Anamaria muttered. "Let's go tramping through a jungle full of who knows what, and see if we can find Will. Of course, this would be a lot easier if we KNEW WHERE HE WAS!" Anamaria shouted the last four words. She was fed up. She and Elizabeth had been walking around in circles for hours. They were very lost. "So much for saving Will and Jack." She was back to muttering again.

"Cheer up Anamaria!" Elizabeth chirped. "We can't be far away. I know we're close to Will." At this, Anamaria gave a disgusted glance at a boulder that she had seen already...four times. "I know!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Why don't we sing a song to pass the time. I know just the one two..."

"Oh, no! Not that stupid egg song!" Anamaria interjected. But it was too late. Elizabeth was already singing about really bad eggs and drinking. Elizabeth and Cap'n Jack loved that song. They were the only ones who could stand it.

Fortunately (for both Anamaria's sanity and Elizabeth's continued wellbeing) Elizabeth's song was cut short. Right in the middle of a "Yo ho" she let out a short screech. Anamaria, who had been trying to tune out Elizabeth by concentrating on the scenery, jumped straight up into the air and whirled around. The scene unfolding in front of her was...unexpected. Elizabeth had been captured by a ghost! Anamaria started to go to her friends rescue, but was grabbed from behind. It was then that Anamaria concluded with a sigh, that she too had been captured.

"It's very simple Jack," Cortez reasoned. "What I want is this. I want you to end our curse. News has reached us of what happened to Barbosa, and we feel your just the man for the job. What say you?" Cortez cocked his head to one side as he awaited Jack's answer.

"Absolutely not!" Jack retorted with a trace of desperation in his voice. "I can't break the curse! The very thought is absurd." Jack gave a righteous nod of his head.

"And there's nothing we can do to convince you?" Cortez persisted.

"Not a thing." Jack replied.

"Let me go!" Elizabeth screamed. She was ignored. "You're going to regret this." She snarled.

"I hope you don't like rum." Anamaria murmured to her captor. He gave her a swift, startled glance, but did not reply. Anamaria shrugged. She was actually rather calm about the whole being captured thing. But then again, Anamaria was the more rational of the two. She had already figured out that:

They couldn't escape at the present time.

If Anamaria and Elizabeth had been captured, chances were that Jack and Will were already in the ghosts' clutches.

They weren't lost anymore. At least now they were actually going somewhere.

4. All in all, Anamaria figured they didn't have such a bad deal.

Elizabeth was raving. She was furious at the way she had been treated. And also at the thought that, instead of rescuing Jack and Will, she herself had been captured. They were going to pay for this, Elizabeth vowed to herself. She would make their...existence...a living Hell.

Elizabeth blinked as a bright light suddenly assaulted her eyes. It seems that while she had been having an internal dialogue, the small party which she was temporarily a part of had reached its destination. There wasn't much there, just a couple of trees and a tent. It was singularly unimpressive.

"Well Jack," Cortez countered smoothly. "The way I see it, you don't have a choice."

"It's Captain Jack now" Jack replied haughtily, "and what makes you say I don't have a choice?"

Cortez gave a slight smile at Jack's insistence on his title. He gave a slight nod to someone behind Will and Jack, and waited. He didn't have to wait long. Into the tent were dragged two very filthy women. Namely, Elizabeth and Anamaria. Jack closed his eyes in exasperation.

Cortez' smile widened at Jack's response. "As you see, I have a few hostages. They shall remain my...guests...until such time as the curse is broken."

"Will!" Elizabeth gasped. The look on her face was shocked, but quickly changed to furious. "What do you think you're doing?!?" She started to screech. "How dare you get captured! I knew you'd need me to save you." Will blushed. Jack raised an eye at Elizabeth.

"Save him?" Jack demanded contemptuously. "Is that what you think you've done? You've just made sure that he's going to go on a very dangerous, and possibly even deadly voyage. And you get to be a hostage...again." Jack made three quick, rather violent motions with his hands. "I have a novel idea!" Jack exclaimed. "How about you and Anamaria stay on the boat and wait for Will and me to come back? Oh wait." Jack pouted. "That won't work will it? You're too bloody stupid to stay where we put you!" Jack ignored the warning signs that Elizabeth was emitting. "What were you thinking, love?" Jack demanded. "Or maybe that's the problem. Maybe you weren't thinking. I think you should loosen your corset, it's obviously cutting off the supply of oxygen to your brain!" With that final parting shot, Jack rose, gave a curt nod to Cortez, and left the tent. Manuel followed. Will glanced at Cortez, his face strained.

"You will leave in the morning young sir." Cortez stated. When he saw Will's nod of acceptance, he too rose. "Come Madame," Cortez spoke gently to Anamaria. "I wish to speak with you." Anamaria daintily placed her hand on Cortez' extended arm. Cortez made a curt motion with his head toward the opening in the tent, and everyone that was left, besides Will and Elizabeth, left. The last one out closed the tent's flap.

Will turned to Elizabeth. When he saw how angry she was, he gave a martyr's sigh. It was going to be a very long night.

Author's Note: It seems like I'm always saying I'm sorry with this story. I would have updated sooner, but for a while I lost inspiration to write it. It was just the other night when I couldn't sleep (again) that I thought of what could happen next in this story.

A couple of news-worthy things:

1. Turns out I have a roommate in my dorm after all. Her name is Lindsey. It's not what I wanted, but oh well. I'll deal, and hopefully we'll get along.

2. I have an account at under the same name. Check it out; I have poetry, and even the beginning of an original story.

3. My mom loves the thrift shop. (Shocking I know.) Anyway, when I needed some stuff for my dorm room, I decided to tag along with her, and see what was there. Besides getting some cool stuff (cheap movies and almost the entire Narnia series) I also got this really cool storage chest. It's more like a wooden footlocker. Anyway, it was painted, and I wanted to see what was under the paint. So, I buy paint stripper (No Dreamstrifer...paint stripper...not a stripper), stripping tools (Seriously Dreamstrifer, you have a twisted mind...), and spend hours today trying to get the paint off. You'll never guess what's under all that paint. No, not some cool design that I'd want to keep on. It's a circus box! On the lid are 4 freaky looking horses, and on the front are 4 freaky looking elephants. As if that's not enough, there are clowns on each side! It's a conspiracy I tell you. And it's not as if the decorations are cool...nope. They're some sort of stylized crap that makes me afraid the pictures are going to pop off the box and eat me. It's very tramatic. The only good thing to come of all this...well, I guess there's more than one. First of all, I can get the freaky pictures off using paint stripper (it's just more work). Secondly, when my daddy heard about my box, he stopped off on his way home from work, and bought me chocolate. And not just any chocolate...Snocaps!!!! I love my daddy.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you next week. Same bat time, same bat channel.

Oh! I almost forgot. I am very (o.k., well, slightly) upset that no one caught my tribute to the original, animated 101 Dalmatians in the first chapter. Look for it. It's there.

Quote of the Chapter:

For Dreamstrifer, whom I haven't plotted with since Melissa's party, and for MudGuppy, who motivated me to write and post this chapter.

See the happy moron,

He doesn't give a dmn!

I wish I were a moron—

My God! Perhaps I am!

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