Title: Time Cannot Erase

Characters: Grapple, Mallot, Jacoby, Sara (OC), Allen Hobbs (OC), Molly (OC)

Disclaimer: The song lyrics that inspired this story are from Evanescence's 'My Immortal'

Summary: An unconscious biography of a character that is marked with death, angst, violence, love and blood. As he ponders his past and contemplates the future, memories plague him of his highest and lowest moments in life.

Author's Notes: I deleted and re-edited this chapter. Found way to many mistakes involving grammar and spelling for my liking.

I had been stupid, numerous times. Every time Sara and I slept together, we were being idiotic. Every time she'd moan or I'd growl, we were being stupid. Every time I didn't withdraw out of her intentionally or accidentally, I was being so incredibly moronic. Every time we kissed, even, we were running a risk. Hobbs wouldn't have thought before killing me, and I don't joke, he was so protective of his daughter especially after the incident with Collin. Of all our silly and unintelligent antics, it was equally balanced with sheer dumb luck. One such time was in the spot where we least suspected we'd get caught; upstairs where the rooms where. Whether they were rented out for the hour or the night, perhaps even a week, nobody ever seemed concerned. She was nineteen and I was twenty. We had come along way without ever being caught except by Mallot (who didn't really count-he could have cared less except it gave him the opportunity to crack as many sex jokes at us as possible).

Sara was pinned against the wall, and we were just making our way into the door a few inches away from us, though struggling as were rather occupied with each other. Of course, we didn't realize Molly come up the stairs and spy us in a fierce knot of lips and limbs. Only when she dropped the armful of clean sheets onto the wooden floor and a whore downstairs called up if the older woman needed assistance. We immediately broke away from each other and looked guiltily at the woman, who quite possibly had a heart attack but was too shocked to notice. We both looked guiltily at each other before breaking out into some implausible blither of excuses, trying to explain to Molly it wasn't what it looked like. She silenced us with a death-glare and approached. We both cringed, thinking she was going to scream at us, or hit us, or something terrible. Instead, she dragged us into the room by our ears (tugging on the earring braided through my lobe rather hard) and made us sit down on the bed.

Molly then launched into the lecture of how stupid we were to be 'parading around' like we were where everybody (especially Allen) could have seen us. She also reprimanded me for saving Sara from being raped and then trying to take her for myself. She also then reprimanded Sara for letting me. We were slightly confused as to why she kept saying "As romantic as it is..." Despairingly, she asked us how long the affair had been going on and whether or not we had actually copulated. Her look was so stern and she seemed so threatening, Sara and I only glanced at each other before looking down and nodding our heads. Molly slapped me sharply and I had to bite my tongue so I didn't curse. And then, the most peculiar thing happened.

Molly gave us both a painful hug that was like a bear mauling somebody. "You two! Oh, I saw it coming the day the scruffy ruffian showed up!" She squealed like a silly little girl and (still hugging us) warned us that although she was happy about it, her husband Hobbs would murder us. Of course, I already knew that. Molly started going on about her days when Allen was courting her and then when they first married. It was a tad boring but we listened, for safety's sake. After she realized she was' blithering like a schoolchild', she warned Sara to only let me at her during a safe time 'during her cycle' to avoid an impending pregnancy. For a moment I was horrified that that meant we could only make love when Sara was bleeding, but when Molly left us alone, she explained to me it's true meaning.

We weren't in the mood after Molly's discovery and reprimands. Instead, we found Jonathan (and after prying him away from his latest whore) and went for a night on the town, simply because we were young, wild and easily entertained. We went drinking at least seven different bars; the in-between time was spent watching me fight with some chump in an illegal bare-fist match, earning the money for our next drink, and giving me a concussion to go home with. We smoked (Sara didn't, claimed the smell made her nauseous), gambled a bit (Jonathan had a knack for cards even though half the time he cheated) and then went down to the docks to look at potential ships. Although Mallot and I weren't fit to pick our next sail, we had nothing else to do, and I wasn't to keen on going back and facing Molly knowing what she knew.

That night, we would find something important, though it wasn't a ship. They would, however, affect our lives in the future inevitably.

The docks weren't a very friendly place to be no matter what time or who you were, however being there at night was even worse. Shifty characters, thieves, scoundrels, men eager for a fight, all of them seemed to gather there. The docks themselves were in a mess. Boards rotted away, whole sections of the docks unsafe to even the lightest of people, and scars where fights had taken place. The docks were where the boxers fought. Any man who could throw a punch and needed money could enter himself, and if a fistfight broke out people placed bets, though there were those who were considered 'professionals'. I, of course, was one of them. I had been doing it long enough and winning enough to establish a place. Usually, I was the favorite for winning. Of course, the docks were also a good place to look out and see ships. If you liked what you saw, you spoke to its crew and might find a place there. Another more dangerous thing about that particular part of the island were the sailors that were getting off their ships. Most were lonely, anxious, glad to be back on land, and you can only imagine what they wanted.

We weren't looking very hard at the ships, not even being able to keep an image straight in our heads. Sara and I were more involved in a shag-fest then looking at anything inanimate. Unfortunately, unless one kept a steady eye on Mallot, he tended to get into trouble (still does, come to think of it). That night was no different. Mallot started trouble with a large black pirate with black tattoos above his eyes and around his arms and hands. He was probably a slave captured from one of the islands, that had either been bought or set-free, and by the look of him he was very pissed off. He looked in his prime, judging by how fit he looked and the challenging saber he wore on his belt. When Jonathan crashed into him, told him to watch where he was walking and called him a 'dirty bloody Negro!' it might have spurred him on to get pissed off. The larger man practically picked Jonathan up and threw him a good two meters back. His trademark weapon slung over his back by a belt carried Jonathan even farther. He landed heavily on his side and scrambled up like a dog that had just been kicked. Shouting insults and cursing a steady stream of foul words in two different languages, he started to draw his mallet off his back when the black pirate lurched forward with his saber in hand. I found myself away from Sara suddenly and with my grapnel out. Hooking the enemy blade in the curve of the metal prong, I jerked my arm back causing the saber to be loosened from the other pirate's grip and kicked out at his hand. He wasn't drunk though like I was, and evaded the attack with ease.

"Oy!" Jonathan yelled and the man looked up as Mallot suddenly swung his mallet at the man's head. There was a loud banging sound as the hammer made contact and the unfortunate pirate collapsed with a heave on the boardwalk. Mallot stumbled off to the side as though nothing had happened and promptly collided with a crate. Sara was staring at the larger black pirate with a look that clearly stated he had gotten what he had deserved. Had Mallot not been drunk and had been able to muster all of his strength, I'm certain the man wouldn't have lived.

I tottered back to Sara and slung my arm over her shoulders. Seeing Mallot starring at something intently through the corner of my eyes, I turned my head just enough to see a pair of men looking at us. I glared back at them, not liking the smirk one of them wore. The men were both older then us, perhaps in their forties or even as late as their early fifties. One wore a large hat with a black ostrich feather protruding from it. He was adorned in a green velvet jacket and by his stern look I was forced to think of Hobbs in a foul mood because one of the horses broke its leg and had to be shot. He had a light-coloured beard and a thin scar trailing his right cheek. The cutlass at his waist looked well used and scratched up. The other man was wearing a short blue jacket with large cuffs and a sick green scarf around his neck. He had light brown hair that was starting to grey and quite a few scars of his own.

"Well, well, Hector, looks like you owe me two crowns," the one with the scarf said smugly. 'Hector' continued to have a hard neutral look on his face. He looked at our party and raised his upper lip in an unhappy way.

"Aye," was all he said. They both spoke with urban accents, most likely naval officers gone on account. He then proceeded to glare at us until he laid eyes on Sara, who had her face buried in my chest. He raised his brows and smiled rather deviously.

"Tch, does y'er daddy know y'er out with such company, Sara?"

The three of us all raised our heads and stared at him.
"Barbossa!" Sara said, almost with pleasant surprise, and forced a smile. She broke away from me and walked over to meet with the man. I glared at him very heatedly.
She led the two men over to us and introduced them as 'Hector Barbossa and Captain Kade Greggs.' Mallot wobbly shock their hands and introduced himself when he suddenly clued in Hector knew Hobbs.

"Oy! How'd y'eh know ol' Hobbsy, eh?" he piped, and Barbossa didn't even hide his look of disgust.

"Sailed with him aboard the Wildcat before it was captured by his majesty's navy." As he spoke, he was looking at me, maybe trying to decide why I looked like I was furious with him.

"Barbossa has been coming to the Black Dragon for years," Sara explained to us, "But he never bothers to sit down. Always chatting with daddy." Barbossa grunted to confirm her words.

"I've seen you two slinking around his tavern, though. Took you in, didn't he? Save y'er lives, eh?" I had the distinct feeling he was trying to provoke us into starting some trouble with him, perhaps so he could inform Hobbs of it.

"Yeah, that's right," I answered back gruffly and continued to glare at him. Kade tilted his head and stared at me.

"Mallot and who the Hell are you, boy?" he said happily. Kade was, as we soon learned, much more jolly than the vicious Barbossa.

"Grapple," I answered darkly, still glaring at Barbossa. I didn't like him at all. He was, after all, still looking at me as though I was a miserable rat.

"I'm sure then, Allen knows your courting his daughter?" Barbossa smirked at me and I grinned back.

"Naw. Hasn't a bloody clue," came the honest answer.

From that, I must have earned some respect, because the good Barbossa stopped glaring and was much more polite.

"Well, you two bloody well knocked out Riggar! Good on you, lads!" Kade congratulated us about beating "Riggar".

"No trouble at'all!" Mallot slurred and careened dangerously to his side, nearly falling over. Somehow, though, he always managed to find a way to right his balance.

Kade was indeed a cheerful man, a bit pompous and arrogant, but he was pleasant enough. Couldn't stop talking about the ship he was captain of, the Gold Victory. He was proud and loud, the complete opposite of Barbossa. The other pirate had a look in his eyes that wasn't quite right, like he was searching permanently for something but simply couldn't find the perfection in anything. He often had his arms crossed and had an air of threat around him.

Kade took us to his ship and showed her to us in the harbor, leaving 'Riggar' lying on the docks. She was a nice sloop, not as small as most of her kind but still looked sleek and fast. He was in love with the bloody thing, how captains got that way I never figured. Mallot mentioned we were looking for a vessel for a few voyages, and Kade suggested, (joking that once we were sober) we sign articles with him. He was leaving port in a week, having just got back that precise night, and looking for a few more 'good sailors' to crew his vessel. I had a suspicion that he had lost a few pirates on his last voyage.

Barbossa made a comment about us not remembering because we were so drunk, and Kade said he'd go to the Black Dragon and remind us. I was going to protest but Sara stopped me. I was fearful that Hobbs would find out about my relationship with Sara, but she regardless, invited Kade and Barbossa to her father's inn. They departed (Barbossa flashing me a superior smirk) and left us the way they had found us.

"You two," Mallot slurred almost happily, "Are in such trouble now." He apparently still had a brain in his alcohol-drenched skull.

"Indeed," I snapped dryly.

No reviews for last chapter? No matter. For those reading and not reviewing, I'm still going to write the story. I know where it's going, for once...

-C