Twilight Poet: Oh dear… looks like I broke my word… you all must be disappointed in me.

Disclaimer: WAHOO! SHE OWNS NOTHING! SHE OWNS ONLY GIN!

Twilight Poet: er…… right…… Oh, Alena, I just wanna say sorry about your eye colour! You'll see when you've read some more XD. Here's:

Chapter 10 – In which another cookie brings a change

-- Jade & Ruby --

The girls jumped in shock as the pirates burst in.

"Knock next time!" Jade cried.

Pintel ignored her, "You'll be dinin' with the captain. And he requests you wear this," He handed them each a dark purple gown.

The girls stared at them… than at the gowns… than at them…

"Well… they ARE nice…" Ruby mused, taking the dress.

The pirate sneered, "And if you say no, you'll be dinin' with the crew…and you'll be naked."

Ruby clapped her hands, "Well it's decided then!"

They grabbed the dresses and shoved the somewhat disappointed pirates out the door.

In the Captain's cabin, the food was laid out and Barbossa lead them to their seats. The girls stomaches growled and they pounced on the food, saving the pirate's speech about manners.

He watched them with amusement, "Try the wine."

"No thanks," Jade grinned, "don't suppose you have any coke?"

Barbossa stared at her blankly.

"Didn't think so," she sighed.

"Apples?" He shrugged.

"How OLD are they?" asked Ruby

The question seemed to take the pirate by surprise, "umm…… a few weeks?"

"Eww!" Sarah cried (the apple did look a little off), "Are you trying to poison us!"

Barbossa seemed to be waiting for that word, "There would be no sense to be poisoning ye, Miss Turner."

Jade frowned, "Then restock your fruit or we'll all get scurvy! You can drop us off when you do."

Barbossa took out the medallion, "You don't know what this is, do ye?"

"It's a pirate medallion."

"This is Aztec gold… one of 882 identical pieces they delivered in a stone chest to Cortés himself. Blood money paid to stem the slaughter he wreaked upon them with his armies. But the greed of Cortés was insatiable. So the heathen gods placed upon the gold…a terrible curse. Any mortal that removes but a single piece from that stone chest shall be punished for eternity." He finished with a freakily deep hiss.

The girls stared at him wide-eyed, "Wow, did you memorise that or did you just word it than?"

"I…err… what?"

Ruby laughed, "Never mind, this is really interesting, please continue."

"Ok… Buried on an Island of Dead what cannot be found except for those who know where it is. Find it, we did. There be the chest. Inside be the gold. And we took 'em all. We spent 'em and traded 'em and frittered 'em away on drink and food and pleasurable company. The more we gave 'em away, the more we came to realize…the drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, and all the pleasurable company in the world could not slake our lust. We are cursed men, Lady's." he sighed, "Compelled by greed, we were, but now we are consumed by it."

Jade quickly grabbed, not a knife, but a large chicken wing.

Barbossa yabbered on, oblivious, "There is one way we can end our curse. All the scattered pieces of the Aztec gold must be restored and the blood repaid. Thanks to ye, we have the final piece."

"And the blood to be repaid?" Sarah gulped

Barbossa laughed, "That's why there's no sense to be killin' ye…yet." He held out the fruit, "Apple?"

Screaming, Jade began to beat the pirate with the chicken wing again and again and again until he was backed into a corner. Finally he managed to grab her arm.

"I'm curious – after beaten' me to a pulp, what was it you plannin' on doing next?"

Meanwhile Ruby, who'd been cracking her head off laughing, grabbed Jade and ran out of the room. And into an array decaying skeletons.

The girls stood there frozen, "Ew…"

They thought for a moment about running for it, but already knew where'd they'd end up and REALLY, REALLY didn't want to be touched by them.

Barbossa came up behind them, "Look! The moonlight shows us for what we really are. We are not among the living, and so we cannot die, but neither are we dead. For too long I've been parched with thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starving to death and haven't died." The girls backed away as he came nearer, "I feel nothing – not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea, nor the warmth of a woman's flesh." He reached out for them and they jumped back as his hand melted in to bone. Screaming, they ran into the cabin, "You best start believing in ghost stories Lasses. You're in one!"

He slammed the door on them and the girl's shuddered in the renewed darkness.

"I hope Alex -I mean Gin- is doing better than us," Jade moped

Ruby sighed, "I'm sure she's doing fine…"

---GIN---

"AAAARRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Gin ran through the streets, Jack and Will hot on her tail. Gibbs had gone off to find 'recruits'.

"GIN HAWKINS!"

They'd been chasing her for a while now and Gin was surprised they hadn't just given up on her and left.

She sniffed lightly, "I didn't know you cared so much about me!" she called back.

"Stop running and I'll show you how much we care!" Will yelled.

Running short on breath, Gin began looking for a place to hide. She couldn't believe how much this reminded her of "When Animals Attack". She paused, THAT WAS IT! She immediately stopped running outside of a dodgy looking café and grabbed a small bottle of tomato sauce. With any luck, the darkness would make it look like blood –'cause it certainly didn't SMELL like tomato sauce! Suddenly gunshots echoed all around her. She'd run straight into the middle of a shoot out. Grinning, she aimed to pour the sauce over her shirt when a sudden pain ripped into her side. Confused, Gin stumbled forwards, the still filled bottled falling from her grasp as she collapsed to the ground. In moments Jack and Will were by her side, turning her over.

Gin blinked at them and slurred, "-was just havin' a little fun," she blinked again as a red fog seemed to fill her mind, "Wow, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom… I must be in one of Sarah or Liz's fantasies… no kissy stuff ok, it was… just too weird last time! Tell Jack I'm sorry I forgot to feed him… Sylvester's still mad at me…"

"What the hell-"

But Gin didn't hear anymore until a rooster woke her early the next morning.

"Hey, I think she's awake…"

Gin's eyes shot open, "WAFFLES!" she shrieked as hands randomly shot out to hold her down.

Jack and Will stared down at her and she grinned, "G'day Mates! Caught me did ya?"

"Drink this," said Will, giving her a small glass.

Without thinking, the girl downed the whole glass, "BLERK! IT BURNS!" Her eyes watered as she choked, "What the HELL was that!"

"Whisky," smirked Jack, "for the pain you're about to experience."

Gin blinked, "What are you- GOOD SWEET BLOODY LORD WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!"

Jack held her down as Will turned her on her side and began removing bandages from her stomach. After that, he began poking around a rather painful area. Gin hissed and squirmed, bitting her lip to stop from screaming.

"You were shot," Jack explained, "nothing serious, but it took a chunk out of your waist."

"Owwwwww," Gin cringed, "oww, pickle, oww, tulip, oww, sugar, honey, ice and tea!"

"Sorry," Will murmured, "Blacksmith's hands –I know they're rough…"

"Oh please," Gin muttered, rolling her eyes. She recognized the line and nearly gagged at the thought it was for her.

Jack took this moment to mention a disturbing development, "Lass? Do you know you talk in your sleep?"

Gin froze. CRAP! What had they heard? Jack watched her face carefully.

"I… umm… I do?" she gulped.

"Yes, and you mention my name a lot…"

OH NO! Gin panicked. She had a pet dog that her parents had named Jack! And she loved that dog and her cat Sylvester more than anything. She paled, what types of things had she said about her beloved pet that he might have thought was for him? By the look on his face, things she REALLY shouldn't have said.

Will had finished re-bandaging her, so she jumped up and scampered out the door of the inn they appeared to have spent the night in, "Don't we have a crew to inspect?"

Will shook his head and the pirates followed her out.

It wasn't long before they stood on the docks, ready to inspect the new crew members.

Gibbs grinned widely, "Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them, faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot."

"So this is your able-bodied crew?" asked Will, rasing an eyebrow.

Jack turned to one man, "You, sailor!"

"Cotton, sir." Gibbs stated

"Mr. Cotton … do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death? Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!"

"He's a mute, sir," Gibbs murmured, "Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how."

Jack bit his tongue as cotton opened his mouth and Gin sniggered. Jack looked at the bird, "Mr. Cotton 's... parrot… same question."

"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!"

Gibbs shrugged, "Mostly, we figure, that means 'yes',"

"O'course it does!" Jack grinned before turning to Will, "Satisfied?"

Will rolled his eyes, "Well, you've proved they're mad."

Suddenly a voice called out from the end of the line, "And what's the benefit for us?"

Gin stopped halfway through a yawn, there was something funny about the woman's voice. She ran over to Jack as he took off the large hat to reveal, the exact opposite to what Gin expected. The girl (not woman) glaring up at Jack had soft, pale skin and bright blue eyes. Her long, wavy hair was a bright red and was held away from her face by a dark blue bandana. Gin nearly fainted as 'Anamaria' reached up and slapped Jack across the face.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either," Will smirked.

Jack cringed, "No, that one I deserved."

"You stole my boat!" The red-head cried.

"Actually –" she slapped Sparrow again, "borrowed! Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back to you."

"But you didn't!"

"You'll get another one." Jack stuttered.

Anamaria pushed her finger to his head, "I will."

Will quickly stepped in, "A better one!"

"A better one!" Jack agreed

Gin pointed to the Interceptor, "That one!"

"What one?" asked Jack, turning around, "That one!" Will, Gin and Anamaria glared at him, "Aye, that one. What say you?"

"Aye!" Everyone cried.

"ALENA!" Gin yelled, unable to hold it in anymore.

The red-head managed to drag her eyes from Sparrow to stare at her and jumped when she did, "ALEX!"

For a moment everyone just stared.

"H-how? W-what are you doing here?" Gin stuttered

Anamaria (Alena) grinned, "I finally ate that fortune cookie you gave me!"

Gin rubbed her eyes, "Man, how many more of those things did I leave lying around?"

Anamaira paused, "Oh? How many others are here?"

"Sarah and Liz are the Swan sisters," Gin grinned, "And I think I'm some sort of comic relief."

"That'd be right," Anamaria laughed, "IS THAT BLOOD!"

Gin looked at the red patch that had seeped through her bandage, "Yeah, I got shot!"

Laughing loudly and linking arms, the girls headed for the ship.

Gibbs ran over to Jack, "No, no, no, no, no, it's frightful bad luck to bring women aboard, sir."

"It'd be far worse not to have them," Jack mused, staring after the duo, a strange expression forming on his face.

"GRAB THE ROPE LASS! THE ROPE!"

Gin struggle franticly through the pouring rain to obey the order yelled to her. The storm had come out of nowhere and crashed on them with a force to be reckoned with. Anamaira had been lucky enough to score a place down in the galley as head chef, whereas Gin –who could burn ice-cream, was stuck on the deck.

She heard Gibbs yell to Jack, "What's in your head that's put you in such a fine mood, Captain?"

Jack grinned, "We're catching up."

Gin collapsed in her hide-away crows nest, though it was quickly filling with water. Her bandage was now completely soaked with blood and the wound was throbbing numbly. She grimaced, "All this 'catching-up' is gonna get me killed!"

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Twilight Poet: 9 PAGES! YAY! Hope it makes up for the extended break. Luv you all!

RAWR!

Fear me. Cuddle me.