A/N: You all waited long enough so I can only hope this begins to satisfy. Forgive me! A refresher- Will has been kidnapped by Alisa, who is working for Barbossa. Liz, Ana, and Jack have taken a ship and are on their way to rescue him. Norrington has no idea where they are, but Liz's dad is alerting the authorities.
Orlando's Hot Chick: You don't have to apologize for taking a while to read my chapters…I have to apologize for taking so long to update! I hope you meant it when you said you can't wait for more, because here it finally is.
Hiro Ichiro: Wow. That is a lot of reviews in such a short time span. Thank you so much for reading my story and giving such great reviews. You had some great questions and here are the answers: No, Anamaria and Alisa are sisters; Elizabeth is just an old friend. In the airport, Jack just dropped the grenade to scare them, he didn't set it off! He'd never kill innocent people like that… I'm glad that you like the story so much and I hope you continue reading.
Williz: Yay! You like my story and think I'm cool! Yay, you're watching for this really, really late update! I'll catch up on reading your story as soon as I can, don't worry.
Chewy518: Thank you for your attempt at being constructively critical, but you may want to do your research next time. In the state of New York (and in most states across the U.S.) it is standard police procedure to not classify someone as missing until it has been 48 hours since anyone has last seen them. If you have any more questions, you may ask!
Terradaina: Great, you liked the chapter! I know it was a little sad, them being separated and all, but that's only for the time being. I gotta laugh out loud on that one—Barbossa is NOT Alisa's father! That's yucky………but good guess! I love it when people are clever enough to take a guess or two. Please keep reading, you've been here from the beginning, don't give up now!
Rach: Welcome, welcome! I have updated, even though it wasn't "soon", so I hope you still think this is a really good story.
Oocssuck: Wowzahs, that is a looong review. I love it. Yayyyy, I'm glad you liked the description of the beach scene; I try really hard to put good descriptions in my stories, because I feel it's important to be able to "see" what's going on most of the time. Heh, heh—you say we need to find Norry a good lass? I've had that in mind all along ;). Aw, don't worry; I'm sure Jack was just kiddin' about the whole toothbrush thing! At least, I think he was...Now, I know the whole Ana-Alisa being proud thing was confusing, but she said it for a reason. Give it time, just give it time. Alas, no Jack or Ana in this chapter, but I swear you'll have a nice surprise soon enough! Yes, Anamaria just gets hotheaded; she and Liz are back on good terms. Thank you so much for the confidence, it means a lot to me. Enjoy.
Chapter 15: Cave of Wonders
When Alisa came into his ship cabin the next morning, Will immediately noticed upon waking that the Jolly Roger was no longer sailing.
"We're here, Will," she informed him. Her eyes looked slightly saddened but the look on her face was mostly…anxious, excited. This scared Will and he began to think the worst would soon happen to him. Without a word, he stood up out of bed and followed her on deck. To his surprise, they were not anchored at a dock, but just outside of a dark cave at the bottom of many cliffs. It was hot and humid outside with plenty of tropical trees above him heavily populating the cliff tops; the sun was beating down on him from every angle, the only relief from the heat being the breezes of the ocean waves. Where the hell are we? he wondered as he moved his eyes to survey his surroundings.
"Welcome to Tortuga, William Turner." As if his mind had been read, the answer to his question came from Barbossa, who had walked up behind him and Alisa undetected. The only response Barbossa received was a hard, yet blank stare from Will and an enthusiastic 'Aye!' from Alisa.
"It's beautiful isn't it? I think you'll like it here, Will," she continued on, all the sadness gone from her eyes.
"Seeing as how I'm being held captive…" he began to retort, but the captain cut him off.
"Enough with the smart aleckin', lad. Alisa, I'll take him from here. Just get the crew ready to foller us."
"Yes, sir."
Barbossa led Will on land and they began to walk toward the cave. William could've easily gotten away since he wasn't bound, but where would he go? He didn't even have his cell anymore- Alisa took that when she caught him leaving Liz a message. They have to be on their way, he thought. I can't wait for Liz to know the truth about Alisa. And ooooo, Anamaria is really gonna beat her ass now! He was about to chuckle but Barbossa's voice made his stomach churn, bringing his upper lip to rise in disgust.
"So I wonder what 'ol Jack has been telling you about me. I'm probably not as bad as he lets on." Will didn't feel up for engaging in small talk.
"What I wonder is why you felt the need to kidnap Elizabeth. And me." Barbossa smiled a slightly sinister smile.
"Ah yes. You and your entrance caused quite a stir at my white party. I had heard of your combat skills, your bravery, your eagerness to save people, but I had not witnessed it myself. Impressive."
William knew what he was implying, suggesting, plotting his head, and he would not be a part of it.
"I'm not like you. I'll never betray Jack." This brought a scowl to Barbossa's lips and he roughly pushed Will along into the cave.
"This way, ya scallywag," he growled and as they began to walk, he lit a candle for more light. Pleased that he had irritated Barbossa, Will walked along, ignoring the man's name-calling. Around him, the cave walls glistened blue-black from the humid moisture in the air and beneath his feet were small puddles of water and rocks along with leaves, branches, and sand. After walking for awhile, the captain spoke.
"They'll soon catch up wit us. But till then, hold this," he said and handed Will the light. As he reached to grab it, the glowing flame made his ring sparkle. Barbossa stared.
"Ahh…still have that ring, do ya?"
"What do you mean?" Will asked. "I've only had it all my life." He mocked the man's obvious stupidity with a roll of his chocolate eyes.
"You don't know what that is…do ya?"
Will was about to say 'A RING…" but the man spoke too soon. Pointing to the ring he began to explain. "This is Aztec gold. Yer father was the lucky one to steal it one night. As you know, he had it engraved with that message." Quarter your life, Will thought to himself as he twisted it around subconsciously. Barbossa continued. "He wore it everyday and bragged that one day, his son would wear it, too."
Suddenly, Will froze on the spot and felt his blood run cold. He stopped walking and slowly tuned to face the Jolly Roger captain with suspicious eyes.
"Hold up. What did you say about my father?"
"He stole that ring."
"How dare you accuse my father like that. You didn't even know him!"
As Will stared him down with a blazingly angry glare, Barbossa stared right back at him with a cool, collected gaze. Why isn't he reacting! What is his fucking PROBLEM! Then it hit him. That cool collected gaze was a gaze of truth. Honest to God truth. When the look of realization on Will's face melted into shock, Barbossa struck again.
"So, Jack didn't tell you? He knew your father, too. Captain Bootstrap Bill. Captain William Turner."
"It can't be true…" Will sunk down to the cave floor grabbing his curly hair in his hands. His life seemed to flash before his eyes with every movie-like scene underlined by the feeling of being lied to. How could she lie to me? My own mother! Jack- how could Jack lie to me?
"Yes, your father was a bloody brilliant pirate. He led us through the seven seas, country to country with pirating ease. Pirates we were, and our crew was known all over the world. In fact, we were on that TV show America's Most Wanted once!" At this he found it appropriate to laugh heartily and smack his thigh. Will looked up at him in amazement. Is this guy insane? Am I insane! What am I doing? Suddenly, as if he read Will's mind, he stopped laughing and yanked Will up to his feet.
"Face it, boy. It's been in yer blood, written in yer destiny all along. Being a Pirate is something you can't escape."
"I know," Will said aloud. "I know," he tried to convince himself. Taking a deep breath he resolved to try and get himself out of the situation as smoothly as possible. "Just tell me everything." As they walked deeper and deeper through the dark cave, Barbossa began to talk his lonely heart out.
"The Deft was a beautiful ship, yer father owned. I lived on the coast of eastern New York in my early 20's. College dropout, rebellin' against my parents. Being in yer father's crew- his gang- well…it was very appealin' to me. Anyway, when I came on board, yer ma and pa had just had you." Will raised an eyebrow at this piece of info. "Don't worry lad. I didn't change any of your diapers." Will shrugged his shoulders and continued walking. "Everything was going splendid; I was traveling the world, having adventures, stealing riches, attracting women with these stolen riches…" Were those women blind? "And then he had to pick up that li'l demon rascal, Jack. Jack… DAMN YOU JACK!" he bellowed with fiery crazed eyes and clenched fists. Will stared at him wide eyed and then jumped, startled when a small monkey scurried past him toward the psychotic man.
Barbossa took a deep, relaxing breath as he bent to let the monkey crawl up his arm onto his shoulder. As he gently petted the animal, he said, "Not you, Jack." Will stared. "Ya, I named the monkey Jack. And since he's here, that means the rest of the crew is catchin' up wit us."
"Yeah, ok, but what about Jack? The human. What were you saying about him?"
"No time. Look. We're here."
Will stopped interrogating Barbossa and looked around. The cave had opened up into a huge underground chamber that was somehow filled with a white light, bright enough that he could blow out the candle but still dim enough to show that the sunlight's entrance was a mile above his head. There was a moat of water two feet deep around a high platform of black stone and there was no type of plant life in the area, Will noticed.
"Wow, Will. Will you look at that? This is all the treasure you could ever want." Alisa and the rest had caught up and she spoke to him over his shoulder. He wanted to turn and glare at her, but he, too, was still fascinated with the cave. This cave of wonders…he thought to himself. All around the cave walls, in the water, and on the platform were objects of gold, precious stones, and sliver. Treasure chests and ancient, valuable statues littered the place heavily and tons of gold coins, bars, and tokens along with pearls, diamonds and other jewels were resting on the cave floor underwater. Maybe that's why such a small amount of sunlight seems like more…all of this shiny stuff and water is magnifying the light by making it reflect off of everything, William mused as he, almost in a trance, kneeled down and reached his hand underwater in an attempt to let a handful of coins play through his fingers. Suddenly, Alisa grabbed his wrist.
"Don't. Touch. Anything!" she hissed and the look of fear in her eyes made him wonder: If she's so cool with the captain, why's she concerned about me? He yanked himself free from her surprisingly muscled grip.
"Ok, I got it. Chill out. And don't. Touch. Me," he retorted, giving her the glare he owed her from her previous remark.
"Alright crew. You know what to do," Barbossa cut into their quiet side conversation. Everyone began talking and milling about, including Alisa. Will, on the other hand, didn't have a clue as to what was happening.
"Alisa, wait up!" he called after her. She didn't stop her effort to drag a large chest across the cave floor, so Will helped her as they talked.
"What is it, Will?"
"Well…Barbossa told me about my father. But he didn't finish telling me about Jack."
"Yes, Anamaria has told me all about your father and how brave and clever he was--how kindly he treated her and Jack."
"She knew my father, too?" Will was getting very upset that everyone seemed to know his dad except for him. It's not fair…
"Oh yes!" She blew a few curled bangs out of her eyes and gave another tug at the chest. "He saved Jack and Anamaria when they were younger than us! He was in Tortuga on vacation, partying away. If I remember correctly, he was celebrating the christening of his brand new ship, The Deft. Anyway, my sister and Jack were playing together in the street like all the kids did. I was in my mother's arms as she watched from in front of our house. The area was filled with party goers and music was playing from every direction. Great smells of food were in the air…of course I'm just going by what Mia says because I was just a baby…"
Will was listening attentively as he helped her by pushing the chest through the water while she pulled.
"So how'd he save them?" He pressed her for more information.
"A gunfight broke out between two groups of men. As you can imagine, all hell broke loose and "dancing in the streets" was over. The kids were runnin' and screamin', the adults dropped everything…well, mamá couldn't just drop me…A few of the men were on horses and as Ana and Jack tried to run towards our house, a horse was running toward them. The end result would've been more tragic than a car accident if your dad hadn't swept them up in his arms and dashed them to safety." With this last sentence, Alisa stopped working and her face and hand motions became extra animated, along with her voice. Her eyes danced with energy and William could tell—she loved to tell a good story. He had stopped pushing and was now sitting on the treasure next to Alisa.
"Wow," he breathed. "That's amazing."
"Yeah, definitely. So after Captain Turner- hope you don't mind me calling him that-" Will felt his throat tighten and his eyes become a teensy bit uncomfortable, but he shook his head 'no'. "Good," she continued. "So after Cap'n Turner rushed them over to us, to safety, my mother was so grateful she invited him in and they got to talking…He always made a point to come and visit from that day on, because we all loved him, him and his crew. Mom didn't care that he was a Pirate. Any man who saved her loved ones was a good man to her. After a few years of getting to know him, my mom decided that it would be alright for Ana to go on visits with them and Jack during the summer. He was like an uncle to them."
"That's amazing. I'm so glad. Um, your mom said Anamaria was old enough to visit "Uncle", what did Jack's mom say?" Will was almost afraid to ask because he felt that he already knew the answer, but he just had to know. Her shoulders slumped and her full lips pouted slightly.
"Jack's always been an orphan." Will nodded. I just couldn't imagine him with parents. He's so independent, strong, and self-sufficient anyways. Like he was born that way.
"I think he was born independent anyway," she stated simply with a shrug and bittersweet smile.
"And I was just thinking the same thing," Will smiled back for the first time since she'd betrayed him. As Will looked at the girl he once called his friend, the one who drew him in with her charm and beauty, he felt lonesome and wished things could be the way they were before. But they can't.
"Look, Alisa, I still don't trust you, but I just wanna say—it's too bad things had to end up this way," he said looking her straight in the eyes.
Oh, Will, if only you knew…For a few moments, which felt like full minutes to them, it was like a battle, chocolate brown eyes vs. dark brown, as if they were both trying to bore into each other's brains and read the thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm sorry too," she finallyadmitted and then their attentions were ripped from each other.
"Look, Cap'n!" A man who Will had heard called Swokes while on the Jolly Roget pointed upward. A colorful parrot was gliding 20 feet above their heads, a silently blaring alarm.
"We've got company!" Alisa exclaimed with lit up facial features and, as it appeared to Will, a dangerously excited clapping of her hands.
A/N: Again- I am sooo sorry for taking THREE MONTHS to update. I feel ashamed about that, but I really am bad at forcing out creativity. If anyone is still interested in this story, I will be grateful for your review and as always, I promise to update till the end if I get one.