A/N: Okay, so I have no excuse for the delay on this chapter other than my own lack of motivation to write. Sometimes I just have those blah spells where I can't make myself write...anyway, pretty long chapter to finish it all up. Thanks to those few who actually read this (and the even fewer that actually reviewed consistently). Hector's not gonna bother with replying to reviews this time because there wasn't much to reply to, but he sends his thanks to the two faithful reviewers. I still have quite a few more ideas stored in my head for more fanfics (two full stories, as well as a few one-shots and drabbles), but I'm going to be taking a 40-day sabatical from writing for Lent (no, I'm not Catholic, but I still like to observe Lent). After that, I'm not sure how quickly I'll start posting stuff again. It mostly just depends on how busy I am and how creative I'm feeling. Please keep checking, though, because I will eventually post something. Thanks for reading!
--pirateoftherings

Ch. 8

Barbossa stood once more at the bow of the small rowboat as they sailed toward the cave opening. The men were far less talkative this time, and the only noise that could be heard was the soft splash each time the oars hit the water.

"You killed William Turner?" a quiet voice asked behind him, breaking the silence.

Barbossa turned around to see the young man staring darkly at him. He nodded without remorse. "I did," he replied simply.

Turner clenched and unclenched his jaw, his dark eyes filled with anger. "…Why?" he asked tightly.

"Yer father died for the same reason any human being dies," Barbossa replied after contemplating. "He outlived his usefulness."

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Tossing the apple up and down, Barbossa navigated the twisting tunnels of Isla de Muerta. He made his way over to the chest and climbed up the slope, leaving Koehler and Twigg to force the young man up after him. As Mr. Turner was held over the chest, Barbossa picked up the knife and got the crew's attention. Anxious to get it over with, he didn't waste his time with fancy speeches. "Begun by blood," he said over the crew's chanting. "By blood, un-" The chanting slowly came to a halt, and Barbossa looked up to see none other than Jack Sparrow maneuvering his way through the crowd.

"Jack!" the young man exclaimed.

"S'not possible," Barbossa muttered in shock.

"Not probable," Jack corrected.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Turner asked, struggling to stand upright.

Jack hesitated. "She's safe, just like I promised, she's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised, and you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word, really…except for Elizabeth, who is, in fact, a woman."

I don't have time for this…"Shut up!" Barbossa snarled. "You're next!" Motioning for the men to hold Turner over the chest again, he bent to slice the young man's throat.

"You don't want to be doing that, mate," Jack interrupted quietly.

Barbossa gave him a sidelong glance. "No, I really think I do."

"Your funeral," Sparrow replied simply, shrugging and falling silent.

Rolling his eyes, Barbossa turned to face the man. "Why don't I want to be doin' it?"

"Well, because-" Jack paused to slap Bo-sun's hand off of his shoulder and began climbing up to where they stood. "-because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore, waiting for you."

A nervous murmur spread through the crew, and Barbossa glared at Jack. "You led them here!"

"That's a safe assumption," Jack replied. "You and me are the only ones with the bearings to this lovely lil' island, and seein' as you probably didn't tell them, it's fairly reasonable to infer that I did. However, I got a bit of a predicament on me hands…See, they don't like me much, and I suspect that the second they got you in safe custody, they'll turn around and arrest me. Maybe I'm missin' something 'ere, but that doesn't sound like too good of motivation for me to help 'em. So, I've devised a little plan that should work in both of our best interests." Barbossa started to interject, but Jack stopped him. "Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the Dauntless; they do what they do best. Robert's your uncle, Fannie's your aunt, there you are with two ships: the makings of your very own fleet. Of course, you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue? But what of the Pearl?…Name me captain; I'll sail under your colors and give ye ten percent of me plunder, and you get to introduce yourself as Commodore Barbossa. Savvy?"

Barbossa studied the man carefully. "An' I suppose in exchange ye want me not t' kill the whelp?" The 'whelp' shot him an angry look, then turned to stare at Jack.

"No, not at all, by all means, kill the whelp," Jack said hastily. "Just…not yet. Wait to lift the curse until the opportune moment…For instance-" He paused to grab a handful of coins out of the chest. "-after you're killed Norrington's men. Every…last…one," he said, dropping the coins back in with each word. Barbossa contemplated the offer.

"You've been planning this from the beginning," the young man accused angrily, glaring at Jack. "Ever since you learned my name."

Jack glanced briefly over at him. "Yeah."

"I want fifty percent of ye plunder," Barbossa interrupted, testing Jack's sincerity.

"Fifteen!" the pirate argued with a frown.

"Forty."

"Twenty-five!" Jack insisted. "…And I'll buy you the hat." Barbossa glanced up. His own was getting into a sorry state… "A really big one…Commodore."

Barbossa smirked and extended his hand. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad having the man serving under him. "We have an accord."

"All hands to the boats!" Sparrow said loudly, then backed down as Barbossa glared over at him. "Apologies…You give the orders."

We'll have to work on that later. "Gents…take a walk," Barbossa said. The men laughed and started to leave the cave.

Jack looked over at him in confusion. "Not to the boats?"

Barbossa glanced sideways at him. "One of the advantages, bein' mostly dead."

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Barbossa ordered one of the men to keep a close eye on Turner and sat down casually on the slope while they waited. Jack was busy examining various articles of treasure, picking one up to look at it, then tossing it aside and appraising another. Intrigued, Barbossa studied the lean pirate. It was still beyond him why the man saw any benefit in helping them. Was he really that obsessed with getting his ship back?

"I must admit, Jack, I thought I had ye figured," he said, breaking the silence. "But it turns out yer a hard man to predict."

Jack looked up from his treasure hunting and tossed aside the statue he'd been studying. "Me, I'm dishonest" he replied casually, walking over toward one of the pirates, who was busy trying to skip rocks on the water. "And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly…stupid." Suddenly stealing the distracted pirate's sword, he kicked the man into the water and tossed the sword to Will. The young man miraculously caught it behind his back, cut his bonds, and turned to engage the pirates.

Barbossa sneered, drawing his sword and charging at Jack. You'll need more than yer uncanny luck this time, Sparrow...

He chose to take the defensive for the time being and let Jack attack first, easily deflecting the man's violent swings. Right now, Jack's moves seemed out of sheer aggression, showing little thought or strategy beyond the raw desire to see his opponent dead. This isn't like him, Barbossa noted as be blocked another slash. He's up to something. He suddenly unleashed a fury of blows that forced Jack to relent slightly until they were facing opposite directions, then turned and ran up the slick slope with his opponent in close pursuit. Jack slashed upwards, smirking slightly as the feather was cleanly removed from Barbossa's hat. Snarling, Barbossa finally took the aggressive and chased after Jack.

Thrust.

Parry.

Feint.

Dodge.

The blades clashed again and again, the rhythm becoming more and more furious. Barbossa spun around and leaned closer as their swords pressed against each other. "Yer off the edge of the map, mate," he sneered. "Here there be monsters." He forced the blade away from him and paused momentarily in satisfaction as Jack fled. That's right, Jack, run, he thought fiercely, pressing his opponent further up the slope.

They fought on, neither willing to fully exert himself for fear of tiring prematurely. Up the slope they went. Dodging one of Barbossa's swings, Jack fell backwards but managed to keep blocking the blows as he struggled to get up. Barbossa lashed out with one foot, striking Jack squarely in the jaw and sending him back to the ground. He tossed aside his sword and shook his head wearily. "Ye can't beat me, Jack."

Jack jumped to his feet and stabbed his sword through Barbossa's midsection. Sighing, Barbossa pulled it out and used it instead to stab Jack. The pirate's eyes widened in shock, and Barbossa smiled triumphantly. Then Sparrow stumbled backwards into a shaft of moonlight, revealing himself to be an undead skeleton. Barbossa frowned in confusion. How?

The skeletal Jack stood there, slowly examining his new appearance. "That's interesting," he commented. Twirling an Aztec coin in one hand, he looked over and grinned. "I couldn't resist, mate."

Sneering, Barbossa grabbed his sword off the ground and flung a handful of coins at Jack. The fight was back on. They passed in and out of the shafts of moonlight as they fought up the slope. Jack swung his fist and sent Barbossa tumbling back down. Barbossa got to his feet just in time to block another series of blows. Knocking Jack to the ground, he diverted his attention just long enough to see two of his men stab each other in an attempt to get Turner. Imbeciles… Jack got up and slammed Barbossa into the cave wall, then ran off down the slope. Whirling around, Barbossa caught up with him and dealt several furious blows. No longer concerned with tiring or revealing secrets, the two men completely lost themselves to the rhythm of the fight. Barbossa avoided one of Jack's haphazard swings and fell back against a low stone formation.

"So what now, Jack Sparrow?" he asked, breathing heavily. "Are we to be two immortals locked in epic battle 'til Judgment Day, and trumpets sound? Hmm?"

Jack shrugged. "Or you could surrender."

He swung at Barbossa, who got out of the way just in time. As Barbossa recovered his footing, Jack jumped up onto the rock, then back down to avoid Barbossa's sword. They exchanged a series of lightning-fast blows before Barbossa punched Jack in the jaw. It was no longer simple a match between two skilled swordsmen, but a furiously intense battle to the death between two old foes settling a ten-year-old score. Laughing, Barbossa chased after Jack. He hadn't enjoyed himself this much in years.

As they continued to slash at each other, an explosion went off at the other side of the cave. Both men turned just long enough to make sure nothing significant had transpired, then resumed their fighting. Fatigue was slowly beginning to affect their combat, but they kept going just as intently. Jack pushed Barbossa away and swiped at his back, causing him to wince in pain. Fueled by rage, Barbossa retaliated.

Lunge.

Reverse.

Parry.

Slash.

They worked their way around the water's edge and out onto a small peninsula of rocks. Jack was now fighting more intensely than Barbossa had ever seen him before, as though each blow might be his last. Another explosion went off behind them, and this time Barbossa turned to see a shower of treasure, articles of clothing, and severed limbs raining down. Oh well. They were expendable, he thought offhandedly. Jack swung his sword again, batting away Barbossa's and knocking him down. Barbossa looked up just in time to see Jack toss his bloodied coin up the slope. Pulling out his pistol, he leveled it at the approaching girl.

A single shot rang out…but it wasn't his. Barbossa turned sharply to face Jack. The pirate's expression was grim, and in his hand was a smoking pistol.

"Ten years ye carry that pistol, and now ye waste yer shot."

"…He didn't waste it," Turner said from behind them. Barbossa look from his right hand, which held the knife, to his left, which was clenched into a fist. Slowly, the boy opened his hand and let the bloodied coins drop into the chest.

Shocked, Barbossa turned back to Jack and visually calculated the path of the bullet…his chest. Thrusting open his vest, Barbossa saw the blood start to flow from the wound and trickle down his white shirt. As he stood there in disbelief, a sudden realization struck him. "I feel…" he muttered in amazement. He could actually feel! The cool, moist air of the cave, the smooth texture of his silken vest…the burning of the hole in his chest. His vision began to blur and darken as another more imminent realization came. "…Cold." His legs gave way under him, and he fell backwards against the slope.

Captain Hector Barbossa was dead.