Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own POTC...

"I don't get why you need another one."

"Liana, be quiet."

"I've been threatened by a pirate and you're telling me to be quiet!"

"Yes, I am. Now be quiet."

"Really, though, you have a hundred swords already. Why do you need another one?"

Will looked up from the red-hot metal that would become a sword eventually and gave Liana a look that stated "I've had enough of pointless questions to which you know the answers."

"Fine, be that way. I'm just bored." Liana sighed. "And the heat is upsetting my sunburn." She had said that purely to annoy Will, and it worked.

"You know, it's your own fault that you're sunburned," he said.

"I wanted to experiment with tanning! My skin is white, and you're at least a little tan." Will didn't answer, and Liana sighed, boredom setting in. She decided that pestering her brother was the only way to solve that problem. She deepened her voice as she had done earlier that day. "God in heaven, the girl's just been attacked by a pirate and she's bored. What's an older brother to do? Especially when I'm working. Doesn't she know that this job is the only thing that keeps us off the streets?"

Will glared. Liana grinned. And a cannon spat fire into the night, shaking the earth with an explosion. Both siblings jumped.

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The dark-haired girl looked out of the window from where she stood, elbow-deep in suds. The plate she was washing splashed into the water as the ship shook.

There went the first shot.

Again.

It was time to raid a town.

Again.

Time to steal, lie, cheat, kill.

Again.

The girl wiped soap off of her arms and climbed the stairs to deck. Captain Barbossa was sending off the lifeboats of men to go ashore.

"Can I go this time, Captain?" she asked him. Barbossa turned.

"Nay, Saria, you stay on the ship. Young thing like you dun' need to be out there." He paused. "People die out there."

Saria rested her elbows on the rail of the ship, and her chin on her fists. "Not our people."

"All the same, ye be stayin' here."

Saria acknowledged him with a wave of her hand, and he walked away. Checking to see she was alone, she shoved her hair up under her cap, fingered her belt for a dagger, and swung onto the nearest boat, where Pintel and Rangetti, luckily for her, were rowing to shore. Pintel nodded, silently giving her permission. Saria's thoughts went to Barbossa.

"Stupid," she muttered, "he ought to know me better than that."

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Amelia Swann woke to the sound of an explosion. She jumped out of bed in her sleeping shift, and ran to the window. Fire laced through the night.

"Elizabeth!" she exclaimed, opening her door and speeding through the hallway. Her sister was already up, and racing through the same hallway.

"Amelia, hide!"

"No, I'm coming with you!" Stupid, thought Amelia, she ought to know me better than that.

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"Liana, stay here!" exclaimed Will, grabbing an axe off the wall. Liana nodded, and watched her brother run out of the smithy with raised eyebrows.

"Stupid, he ought to know me better than that," she said quietly, grabbing a small sword off a rack and going after him.

It was pandemonium outside. People raced to and fro, screaming for their lives, children sobbed, and a few brave souls fought the pirates. Liana rushed to a fruit stand, where a little girl stood, hugging herself and crying.

"It's okay!" said Liana, kneeling by her. "Liana's right here. What's your name?"

"Maria," the girl said, voice heavy with sobs.

"All right, Maria, listen to me. Where are your mama and daddy?"

"Mama went that way," Maria said, pointing in the direction Liana had seen Will run. "And Daddy's at the fort."

Liana nodded and lifted up the crying girl, running amidst the chaos that was now Port Royal. Will was nowhere to be found, but neither were Kaitlyn, Kristen, Robert, Nicole, Tom, Anthony, or George, who were Liana's friends, and all between the ages of eleven and thirteen. Liana was thankful for this, as it probably meant they had been smart and stayed in their houses, but the absence of her brother worried her.

Finally, she caught sight of Will just in time to watch him throw his axe into the back of a pirate. The woman the pirate had been chasing ran into Liana.

"Sorry!" she said, her eyes wide. Then she saw the little girl in Liana's arms. "Maria!"

"Mama!"

Liana handed her over, and then began to speak. "Miss, you must hide!"

The woman clasped Liana's arm. "Thank you."

Liana smiled in response, and then ran after her brother, who was yanking out his axe. "Well, fancy meeting you here, William."

"Liana?" demanded Will. "What are you doing?"

Liana dodged around him and unsheathed her sword, knocking out one of the pirates with the pommel. "Helping."

"Well, stop helping and go back to the goddamn smithy!"

"Sorry, Will, got a town to save. Ta!" Grinning, Liana ran in the opposite direction, only to crash into a girl about her age. "OUCH!"

"Sorry, my fault," said the girl, who had brown hair even darker than Liana's and very ragged clothing. "Get inside, quick!"

"Nope," replied Liana. "I just told my brother, I'm helping."

"You're going to get killed!"

"Nah, I'm not. I know what to do if I get caught."

"And what's that?"

"Just say 'parley.'"

The girl was silent for a moment. "I see." She shook Liana's hand. "I'm Saria."

"Liana Turner."

Saria started. "Turner?"

An cannon fired near them and they both ran to the side. Liana continued the conversation.

"Yes, Turner."

"Do you have an older sibling?"

"Why's everyone so interested in Will?" she wondered aloud. "First Sparrow, now-"

"Sparrow?" Saria looked positively alarmed now. "Captain Jack Sparrow?"

"That's the one." Liana was confused. "So what?"

"Oh, um, nothing, just- OH, CHRIST!" Saria grabbed Liana's shoulders and spun around to crouch behind her. A bald pirate with a number of tattoos was running past.

"You okay?" asked Liana.

"Fine, fine, perfect, even. Um, how old is your brother?"

"Twenty two."

Saria was past alarm by this time. "Oh, no, this is very bad. Listen..." She seemed to struggle with herself, but Liana interrupted her.

"Amelia! Elizabeth!"

The Swann sisters were being dragged towards the shore, and Liana lifted her skirts to follow. Saria grabbed her arm.

"Don't! They'll kill you. Where's your brother?"

"I'd rather not find out," replied Liana. "He's rather mad at me. Listen-"

But at that moment, a pirate ran past... the very same pirate Liana had seen her brother kill with his small axe. She stared after him.

"What is it, Liana?" asked Saria.

"I... my brother just killed him," she said, scared now. "I saw him throw his hatchet at him..."

Saria paled visibly. "Well, we don't have to worry about him now. In fact, look, he's going back to the ship."

Indeed, he was. And the Swann sisters were nowhere to be found.

"We've got to save them!" said Liana, staring at the ship. "What ship is that?"

"The Pearl," said Saria grimly. "The cursed Black Pearl."

Liana looked at her, perplexed. "Isn't the Black Pearl just a legend?" she asked. "And the story goes that it's got black sails, and is crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out?"

"No, it's not a legend, and yes, it's got black sails and is crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out," said Saria. "Believe me, I know."

"Hold up a second," Liana said, frowning, "I know everyone around our age in Port Royal. I don't like many of them, but I know them. Amelia Swann went to finishing school, so I didn't know her, but you don't look like you went to finishing school."

"No, I didn't. Come on, let's find your brother so we can rescue them." Saria began to walk, and Liana shot her a distrustful glance before jogging after her.

"You seem to know a lot about the Black Pearl, Saria," Liana persisted, folding her arms.

"Aye?"

"How do you know it's not just a legend? One of the soldiers I know, Murtogg, claims to have seen it, but between him and his partner there's not enough brains to fill an eggcup. How do you know so much about it?"

"I just know things."

"How do you know things?"

"You ask too many questions."

"You have as many answers as I have questions!" insisted Liana, on the verge of stamping her foot like a three-year-old. "You just don't want to give them to me!"

Saria grinned. "Right you are, Miss Turner." She quickened her pace, and Liana did as well to keep up with her.

"Do you even know where the smithy is?" said Liana, near anger now. "Or that my brother is even there?"

"No, and yes."

This confused Liana. "What?"

"No, I don't know where the smithy is, but yes, I know if your brother is there or not. He isn't."

"How do you know?"

"Because he's right there," said Saria, pointing ahead of them. Liana followed her index finger to see Will lying on the ground.

"WILL!" she screamed, rushing towards him. She placed her sword under his nose and sighed in relief when it steamed up. "Thank God, he's breathing."

"Of course he's breathing," said Saria, coming up beside her. "He only knocked him out, look." Indeed there was a lump on Will's head.

"That's going to smart when he wakes up," said Liana. "Hey, Will, wake up!" She slapped his face, but he didn't wake. "That can't be good."

Saria looked up at the sky, where the clouds were moving. "Oh, damn it to Davy Jones' locker..." She ran into a building, and Liana raised her eyebrows.

"Ookayyy..." Liana looked at Will. "All right, Will, you can wake up now, I really wouldn't mind... hm..." None of the pirates were anywhere to be found. Liana crouched down, got her arms under Will's shoulders, and attempted to pull him out of the road, but he was much heavier than her. "Whooo boy..." She grunted as she strained her back. "Difficulty..."

The clouds went back in front of the moon, and Saria reappeared.

"What are you, a werewolf?" asked Liana jokingly.

"What?"

"Oh, never mind... come on, help me get him into the smithy... and then would you please tell me what's going on?"