Aquatic Kingdom Hearts

Chapter 19: The Cursed Treasure; the Black Pearl vs. the Interceptor pt.1

Isla de Muerta

Cavern Hideout

Deep within the damp and darkened caves of the Island of Isla de Muerta, the pirates had made port in it with their longboats. Barbossa was leading the way towards the main cavern, while the rest of the crew got their torches to light up the way. The rest of the crew were carrying sacks and boxes filled with money, gold, jewels, anything that was worth of value in this time of era. Ariel was being led in by Pintel and Ragetti, who they themselves were dragging in a crate of sorts. And when she stepped into the room, she was amazed beyond anything she had ever seen.

In a massive cavern, with several sky roofs on the ceiling of the cave, was a massive treasure trove. It was filled to the brim with riches beyond any pirate's wild imagination…if they had any good imaginations. Even Ariel was bewildered by this as she was standing there, looking out to the vastness of this treasure. But then she came to her senses as she remembered why she was brought here. She looked on top of one of the rocky hills of the cave, the main center of it as it was covered in treasure and gold, but on top of it was the object of much to fear. A stone chest with Aztec writing on it, as the pirates dumped their spoils over the place, adding to the treasure.

However, Ariel's dread of the chest was too overwhelming as she gulped, "The cursed chest….", but then her attention was turned back towards two familiar pirates as they prepared to dump the chest.

Pintel and Ragetti were smiling like the thickest of thieves as they carried the chest over. Then Pintel spoke up, with his yellowish grin showing, "Ten years of hoarding nothing but swag…"

"And now we're finally gonna be able to spend it.", Ragetti stated cheerfully. And they both cackled as they opened the chest and dumped the contents. But when it opened, they saw it was full of nothing but ballroom dresses, bonnets, and umbrellas. However, they rummaged through the stuff anyway as they did.

But then Ariel had walked over to them, slightly curious as she stopped and asked, "Wait.", the two pirates stopped what they were doing as she had caught their attention, and then went on, "You mean you've been stealing treasure for ten years…and haven't even spent any of it?"

Then Ragetti, being the polite one, simply answered, "Well, we couldn't spend it yet at all. What with the curse upon us, and all."

And then Pintel pointed out, "And once we're quit of the curse, we'll all be rich men.", and then he pointed to Ragetti as he explained further, "And he'll finally get an eye that'll fit and made of glass."

Ariel then raised an eyebrow as she asked Ragetti, "You mean…your eye's not made of glass?"

Ragetti nodded as he felt a little irritation to it, "Aye, it's made of wood. Given to me by Captain Barbossa, it was. He said to keep it safe for him.", but then he whimpered as he rubbed his wooden eye, making it squeak as he complained, "Though this one does splinter something terrible."

Feeling sorry for the pirate, Ariel stepped forward as she gently reached out to him, and pulled his hand away. She then told him, as a mother would to her child, "Hey, come on. Don't rub it; it'll get even more irritated."

But before Ariel could help at all, Twigg and Koehler pulled her away, snarling at the other two. They then pulled her towards the captain, leaving Pintel and Ragetti just watching at the actions. Then their attention was turned by another snarling as they looked to where Ariel once stood. Bo'sun had witnessed the whole thing and looked at the two in disgust. The two pirates stood up in fear, causing Bo'sun to just walk away, with a disgusted grunt. Pintel then looked to Ragetti, and for no reason, juts whacked the pirate with the umbrella he had in hand.

Not Too Far Away

As Barbossa and his crew were preparing to do whatever it was they had planned, another scheme was being hatched in another pirate's head. Jack was steering the rear of the motor boat that he was sharing with Eric and Dax as they made their way down the blackened cavern tunnel. Eric was currently holding a lamp in front, lighting their way out of the darkness, and Dax was just in the middle, waiting for the boat ride to end. So far, it was smooth sailing for the three, that is until Eric and Dax both gulped as the light caught something that caught their eye. The two saw on a shore side to them, the skeletal remains of a pirate, with a sword in his hand, and one in his back, and a few crabs picking at his remaining flesh.

Eric gulped at that as he turned towards Jack as he asked, "So, um…What Code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?"

Not minding the skeleton, Jack calmly answered as they quietly moved on in, "Pirates Code, lads. Any man who falls behind…is left behind."

Then Dax grimaced as he looked to Jack with much distain in his eyes. And then he sarcastically asked, "No heroes amongst thieves, eh?"

Jack, completely unfazed by that small insult, looked to Dax as he stated, "You know, for having such a bleak outlook on pirates,…", he then pointed to Eric as he stated, "…Mr. Thatch, here, is well on his way to becoming one."

Eric turned around to hear that comment, and then raised an eyebrow as he asked, while he turned back to his job, "And how exactly am I on my way of becoming a pirate?"

Jack sighed as he rolled his eyeballs for a moment. And then he simply sarcastically asked, "Do you need me to write it down?", he then stated as they went in further, "I'll give you four fun facts that's made you into a pirate so far, lad: One, you sprung a man from jail; namely Moi. Two, you helped me commandeer a ship of the US or UK Navy. Three, you sailed with me and a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga…", but then stopped as Eric's attention was pulled towards something else in the water. Jack peered over and saw a few gold coins in the water, indicating they were close. Though Jack smirked as he finished his point, "And finally Four…you're completely obsessed with treasure."

It was then that they spotted the shore to where the pirates' boats were all parked together. They docked in and turned off the engine as quietly as they could. Luckily, they weren't spotted or found out, so it was safe to say that they had come in clean and undetected. The three made their way as quietly as they could; well for Dax, it was easy, seeing that he didn't make a sound when he scurried ahead of them.

But then Eric stated to Jack as he followed the pirate from behind, with a slightly confused yet frustrated look on his face as he shot back, "Wait a minute. How am I completely obsessed with treasure? I wouldn't even know what to do with gold or silver."

Jack, still listening to the young buccaneer, spotted Dax perched on a rock side. His attention was caught on to something of great importance, as Jack joined in but the two still kept out of sight. As soon as Eric had joined them, Jack turned to the young buccaneer as he stated to him with a half-smirk, "Not all treasure is silver, gold, or jewels, mate.", it was then that Eric heard voices as he joined over with the two to look at whatever it was they were looking at. When he joined them and looked, he saw the pirates and a man standing on a hill of treasure next to a stone chest. But what really got his attention was the person standing next to the man like a prisoner with her hands bound together with rope.

"Ariel.", Eric whispered, his voice filled with surprise and reassurance that she was alright and unharmed. But then took notice of what was going on. The man standing next to her, which he probably guessed was Barbossa, was speaking out to his crew like a preacher.

Barbossa looked to his anxious men as he stood up, and shouted to them like he was a preacher on Sunday, or someone who was running for President at an Election campaign, "Gentlemen, the time has come! Our salvation is nigh! Our torment is near an end!", the pirates cheered and roared to that. Ariel didn't show it, but she was much in fear, knowing what would soon happen after the speech, as Barbossa continued, "For ten years, we've been tested and tried, and each man jack of you here, has proved his mettle a hundred times over…AND A HUNDRED TIMES AGAIN!"

Dax just whispered to the two as he commented, "Man, this guy likes to hear himself talk."

The pirates roared out with cheers and in agreement with Barbossa. Ragetti, who was in the crowd with Pintel, and closest to Barbossa, whined like a needy person in need of religious healing, "Suffered I have!"

The crew roared at that as Barbossa nodded to Ragetti as he pointed to him and the others, "Punished we were; the lot of us! Disproportionate…to our crimes.", and then he walked over to the chest, causing Ariel to back away slightly, and then he turned back towards the crew, "But no more…NO MORE! HERE IT IS!", and then kicked the top of the chest over, nearly scaring Ariel as she saw what was in the chest. It was the gold coins; all 881 pieces, and they were all identical to one another. Barbossa then ran his hands through it as he took out a few pieces, making sure he didn't keep them as he continued, "The Cursed Treasure of Cortez himself.", he then looked back to the crew as he placed the pieces he had in his hands back, "Every last piece that went astray, we have returned…", and then pointed to Ariel, nearly startling her as he was pointing to the medallion around her neck, "Save for this."

The pirates roared with anticipation, while some shouted out for Barbossa to slit the girl's throat and be done with it. After hearing that part, Eric couldn't take it anymore as he shouted in a whispered tone, "Jack!", and tried to rush over, despite the fact that they were outnumbered fifty to three. But Jack held him back, and pulled him back, but not before a few coins dropped to the ground, making a little sound that caught the attention of Barbossa's monkey.

Jack held Eric by the shoulders as he stated, looking him in the eye, "Not yet.", he then looked around, making sure the pirates didn't see them, and then back to Eric as he stated, "We wait for the opportune moment." And then went ahead to a clearing, as Barbossa continued his speech to the crew,

"881 we found but despaired for ever finding the last.", Barbossa yelled on, the pirates all cheering at this as he continued.

While Jack tip-toed to a good position to come in, Eric was right behind him. He was slightly frustrated at this, and vented it out as he asked with a hint of venom, "When's that? When it's of great profit to you, or when they find out that Ariel isn't the one they need, and then they kill her?" Jack stopped for a moment, and turned around looking at Eric slightly confused. Eric shook his head, knowing Jack was playing dumb, but he stated as he got into his face, "I'm not stupid, Jack. You told me and Frey that in order for them to break the curse; they need all the scattered pieces of the gold restored: done. Now all they need is the blood repaid; my blood, which me and my brother share the same blood. When they find out that…", but then Jack interrupted the boy as he held his hand out in a shush manner.

Jack sighed, and walked back to Eric as he asked him, "May I ask you something? Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" Eric seemed to think about it for a moment, but then shook his head. He knew that Jack had kept his word on getting him here and rescuing Ariel, so now there would be no reason not to distrust him. After seeing the boy make up his mind, he then advised him, "Do us a huge favor; I know it's difficult. But please trust me by staying here waiting, and try not to do anything…stupid.", and with that, he left Eric and Dax in the dirt as he went ahead but remained hidden.

Eric sighed and knew full well that he trusted Jack, but his gut told him this wouldn't end well. He turned towards Dax and looked down to him as he said, "Wait for us back at the boat, Dax. If the worse should come….well, then. Like Jack said, 'Keep to the Code'."

Dax nodded to that absentmindedly, "Okay, gotcha. If the worse comes, keep to the…", but then stopped as he nearly shouted hysterically, "What? Are you crazy, kid? I'm not gonna…"

"Just do it, Dax.", Eric commanded as he looked back to Jack's direction, and back to Dax as he stated in his normal tone, "We don't know what's gonna happen, so it's best that when Ariel's alright, you both escape back to the Interceptor." And with that, he followed Jack as quietly but quickly as he could.

Back with the Pirates

Ariel stood their helpless as Barbossa was winning the pirates with his speech and ranting. She cringed with disgust as Barbossa touched her shoulder as he asked the pirates, "And who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the Heathen Goddess, Calypso?" The pirates roared out, telling him that they had paid it. And then Barbossa shouted, "And who's blood must yet be paid?", the pirates all shouted together, and pointed at Ariel, who felt helpless in her own fear at this point.

Then Barbossa chuckled as he looked to the men and told them, "You know the first thing I'm gonna do after the curse is lifted….", he then turned towards Ariel as he snickered to her, making her a little scared, but then he answered, "Eat a whole bushel of apples." Then Ariel shot at him with a scowl as she replied to that, "And I hope you choke on a piece.", that earned her a snarl from Barbossa, as he grabbed her by the back of her hair, causing her to wince in pain. And then he forced her head down as her face was nearly lowered to the gold coins.

Then Barbossa pulled something out of the chest that made Ariel cringe in fear. It was an old sacrificial knife that the Aztecs used; the blade was carved from a rotted yellow bone and was pretty sharp and jagged. The pirates chanted for Barbossa to use it on the girl and be rid of the curse forever. Barbossa held the blade up, as he chanted like a sorcerer performing a spell or something, "Begun by blood…By blood undone.", and then brought up Ariel as he held the blade to her neck, about to draw out her blood and kill her in doing so.

Ariel cringed at the blade and nearly gasped, knowing full well that her life was at an end. She then pleaded in her own mind, one last time, 'Eric…please, help….'

Unknown to them, Jack was sneaking nearby, keeping an eye on this, and waiting for the opportune moment; all he needed to do now was think of a way to find that opportune moment. Unfortunately, this wasn't his moment, as he saw a shadow heading right for him. And the last thing he saw was Eric coming out of the dark, and then he belted him right in the face with the handle guard of his sword. And then with a clueless and surprised look on his face, Jack slumped to the ground, unconscious and out cold.

Eric re-holstered the Seablade back to his back, and looked down to Jack, apologizing, "Sorry, Jack. I do trust you…", and then took the hood on his jacket and brought it over his head, shadowing his face, "…I just don't trust Barbossa to bargain with.", and then with the pirates still chanting, blended in with them as he chanted along, while making his way towards Barbossa and Ariel.

The chanting grew louder and faster, as Ariel grimaced at the fate that was coming to her now. However, it didn't come as Barbossa let go of her hair, and used his free hand to pull off the medallion around her neck. And adding to her surprise, he took her left hand, placed the medallion in her open hand, and then made a small cut on her palm. Winching from the pain, she ignored it as she looked to Barbossa, frightened but relieved, and asked, "That's it?"

Barbossa smirked at her as he simply answered, "Waste not."

Then Barbossa gripped the hand that held the medallion, and squeezed it, causing Ariel to wince in pain. The pirates chanting and yelling got louder and even faster, as they saw the ritual coming to a close. Ariel's hand that held the medallion began to drip with blood, and Barbossa knew that it was ready to return. He then forced Ariel's hand open, and allowed the medallion to drop back into the stone chest, to be reunited with its 881 brothers and sisters.

As soon as the coin hit the others, the pirates stopped chanting and closed their eyes, awaiting the curse to be lifted off of them, and return them to mortal men. Barbossa did the same as he walked away from Ariel, and closed his eyes to await the curse to be lifted, all of them unaware that Eric was slowly walking towards the hill and stopped along with them.

After a few awkward moments of silence, Barbossa and the other pirates opened their eyes and looked at each other. They now wondered if the curse had been lifted off of them now that all the pieces were restored and the blood now repaid. They didn't notice the extra shipmate, the hooded pirate who was Eric, to even bother seeing that their minds were on something else. Had they been cured of the curse, or was the cure nothing but folly in order to lead them on a wild goose chase?

Koehler looked around at everyone, and then asked out loud, "Did it work?"

Ragetti felt his chest for a moment, not knowing what to find. And then he looked over to Koehler and Twigg as he shrugged, "I don't feel no different."

Then Pintel asked out loud, "How do we tell?", that earned him a sigh from Barbossa as he rolled his eyes…and shot Pintel in the chest with a 9mm Punisher, leaving a smoking hole in his chest. Both Pintel and Ragetti were freaked out by that, as was everyone else including Ariel and Eric. Pintel just stood there, looking at the hole in his chest, and not dying at all.

Koehler frowned as he stated the obvious, "You're not dead."

Pintel chuckled in relief as he nodded at that, "No, hehehe….", but then frowned as he pointed to Barbossa, "Hey, he shot me."

Ragetti frowned at this as he stated the obvious, "It didn't work."

Seeing this as an opportunity for a distraction, Eric chipped in as he spoke in a gruff and deep voice, "The curse is still upon us!"

The other pirates murmured in disappointment as they turned to their captain. Barbossa holstered his firearm, wondering what had went wrong; he was sure that everything went right and did it exactly as it was supposed to go. But then a thought struck him as he picked up the Aztec knife, and looked at the blood stain on it. It was then that he realized the obviousness of the truth: the blood on the coin wasn't Thatch blood at all. This angered Barbossa slightly as he turned to Ariel and grabbed her by the shoulders, slightly scaring her, as he interrogated, "You, girl! Your brother, what was his name?", Ariel didn't answer, so he shook her hard as he shouted, "Was your brother William Thatch?"

Ariel scowled at the pirate captain and answered, "No.", and then she mockingly stated, "And I forgot to mention…I have six sisters; no brother at all."

Barbossa's anger was growing, but he calmed it slightly as he shouted, "Then where's his sibling? The sibling that sailed from Ireland six years ago?", he then grabbed the medallion from the stone chest and held it up to her, "The sibling whose blood flows the blood of William Thatch? WHERE?"

Ariel stood defiant at Barbossa, and then snarled at him with her bravery coming back to him, "Even if I knew where he was right now…I would never tell you." Now Barbossa's anger had reached his peek; and with that last sentence, Barbossa slapped Ariel hard, causing her to fall off the hill and into the arms of a pirate clad in blue and black, and with a hood covering his face in shadow. And when Barbossa slapped her, the medallion that was in his hand slipped from his grip and fell near Ariel's feet.

Ignoring the girl, the pirates turned their attention for something to blame. Luckily, Bo'sun found the perfect scapegoats, as he looked to Pintel and Ragetti as he scolded, "You two!", the two shrank back as he continued, "You brought us the wrong person!"

The pirates all shouted in stringing them up, but then Pintel pleaded, "No! She had the medallion. She's sixteen years old; she's the proper age!"

Even Ragetti chipped in as he stated, "She even said her name was Thatch. You heard her." He then turned to everyone as he stated, "I think she lied to us."

Unknown to the whole ruckus, then only ones to notice it was Ariel and Eric. She saw a familiar otter swimming in, and taking the medallion in his hands. Ariel smiled with joy in seeing a friendly face; Dax made a quiet sign as he told her to keep quiet, and swam away. But before she could figure out what was going on, the pirate that held on to her, was about to speak his mind.

Eric needed to get Ariel out of there, so he had to push this squabble a little further. He then shouted to Barbossa as he stated, "You brought us here for nothing!"

Barbossa turned his attention to this new pirate as he demanded, "You! What's yer name?"

Eric thought of something really quick as he answered, "Smith. Or Smithy, if you like."

Barbossa snarled as he shot back, "Well then, I won't be takin' second guesses from anyone.", he then pointed to Smithy as he stated, "Especially none from the likes of you, Master Smithy." He then shooed him away as he ordered, "Take this…imposter…back to the Black Pearl. I'll deal with the likes of her later."

The blue hooded pirate nodded and grabbed Ariel forcefully by the arms as he scolded, "This way, Poppet.", and pulled her away, as she struggled to break free of this man. The last thing that Ariel wanted to do now was to be stuck on the Black Pearl again, so she struggled to break free of this pirate's grasp. The pirate struggled with her as they were in the tunnel, despite that they didn't notice the still form of the knocked out Jack Sparrow. The pirate grunted as Ariel broke one arm free and kneed him in the gut, as he tried to calm her down, "Hey, take it easy, will ya?"

Ariel turned around as she growled at the pirate, "Get your hands off me!", and tried to slug at him with her freed hand. She threw punch after punch at the pirate, yelling, "I'm not going back to the Black Pearl!" and then went for a punch to the face, but the pirate caught it by the wrist as she tried to pull away. But she found this pirate had a strong grip on her wrist, but kept it gentle as to not hurt her. She scolded him, "Wh-What are you doing?", it was strange right now that she noticed this pirate was being gentle, and not like the others who were rough with her.

It was then that the pirate spoke in a familiar voice, "Sheesh, that's the last time I act like a villain to fool everybody.", Ariel nearly gasped at that as she recognized that voice. When the pirate released her hands, she looked at him with hope, and slowly removed the hood, to reveal a smiling Eric.

She nearly went to tears as she glomped on him, hugging him around the neck as she whispered, "I knew you'd come to rescue me."

Eric smirked at this, but then broke the hug as he stated, "Come on, we don't have much time." He led her to the water and told her what to do to get out of there. She slipped into the water, and took off the bracelet, causing the water around her to glow bright blue underneath. And when it died down, she lifted her tail up, revealing her mermaid's tail once more. Eric then took the bracelet and then looked to Ariel as he knelt down, "Okay, you get out of here, first and wait outside the entrance to the cave. Dax'll follow behind and I'll follow behind him later."

Ariel's face was filled with surprise and fright after hearing that. She swam up to the ledge and grasped it looking up to Eric as she asked, "But…but what about you?"

Eric looked behind him and started to hear the pirates shouting. And then he turned back towards Ariel as he knelt down to be closer to her as he answered, "I've just gotta make sure they wont follow us." He then smirked, reassuring her that he would promise her, "Don't worry…I'll come after you, I promise."

Unsure of what to do, Ariel did the only thing she could do at that point. She reached up to Eric with her hands, cupped his face, and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. As soon as she broke from the kiss, she looked at a stunned Eric as she smiled sadly and said, "I'll be waiting, so please come back soon.", and with that, she dived into the water and swam outside.

Eric shook off the stunned feeling, and looked to Dax who was standing by with the Medallion. He was smirking at he teased Eric, "You're startin' to enjoy being the boyfriend now. Aren't you?"

Eric shook his head and gave him the bracelet, "Here, take it and meet up with Ariel. Then head back to the Interceptor."

Dax raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Wait a minute! What are you gonna do? You need the bracelet in order to swim back to the Interceptor."

Eric got up as he stated, "I've gotta get Jack first."

Dax slapped his face as he scolded Eric, "Eric, don't be a fool! Jack isn't some nice guy. He's a drunken pirate…"

"That is still a good man in my point-of-view, Dax.", Eric defended as he got up and looked at the longboats, and then back to Dax, "Look. If the worst is to come, then like Jack suggested, keep to the Code." Dax sighed in defeat at this; he knew full well that Eric wasn't about to leave someone behind, much as they deserved it. The little otter wrapped the coin around his neck, with the bracelet in tow, and jumped into the water, swimming out to meet Ariel.

As soon as Dax was out of sight, Eric got straight to work to slow the pirates. He unsheathed the Seablade from behind him, and walked up to the first longboat. With one swing, he slashed through the engine, causing it to leak out gasoline. He did this to the other longboats until they were all leaking gasoline. While rummaging through the boats, he had spotted a flare gun and saw it was going to be of use. He took it and only loaded one shell into it, aimed it at the boats' leaking gasoline, and fired. The flare it the gasoline, causing it to ignite, and lead to the engines, leading them all to explode and be blanketed in fire.

Eric took a deep breath to calm himself, and threw the flare gun away. He then turned back to where he left Jack and went as fast as he could, "And now to get Jack and get out of here."

Back with the Pirates

The crew was arguing with Barbossa, considering all their frustration needed to go to the source. The pirate, Smithy, had started a very good point on all of this. If anyone was to be blamed for this situation, it was Barbossa. However, the blaming wasn't all by everyone as the monkey was chirping desperately to get his master's attention, seeing as how he had heard an explosion. And Twigg made that point out as he shouted, "Smithy was right. You brought us out here for nothing!" The pirates all roared at that, shifting the blame on to Barbossa.

Barbossa snarled as he shot back, "I won't be takin' second guesses from anyone.", he then pointed to Twigg as he stated, "Especially none from the likes of you, Master Twigg."

But Twigg wasn't the only one as Koehler snarled at Barbossa, glaring daggers at the captain, "Who's to blame here? Every decision you've made as led us from bad to worse!" The pirates roared even louder as their bloodlust was getting the better of them.

One pirate shouted out, "It was you who sent Honest to the depths!", the pirates all roared out even more as they unsheathed their bladed weapons.

Bo'sun unsheathed his battle axes as he stepped forward, with everyone behind him. He then growled out loud like an animal at Barbossa, "And it was you who brought us here in the first place!"

And just before they charged out to kill him, Barbossa unsheathed his cutlass sword as he waved it at them all. This caused the pirates to stop before they charged at him. And then he declared out to them, with no sign of fear in his voice, as he shouted, "If any of you cowards dare to challenge me, let 'em speak out!", a silence was heard from all over the crew; no one dared to challenge Barbossa due to his sword skills. It was then that they all sheathed their weapons back as they had finally calmed down.

After they had calmed, Koehler suggested to the Captain and everyone, "I say…we cut the girl's throat…and spill out all of her blood.", the entire crew looked at him, and he shrugged while he stated, "Just to be sure." The pirates all cheered and roared to that, eagerly awaiting the bloodlust that was conjured in them all.

Barbossa nodded to that, and turned to his hand where he held the medallion. Only his face went to shock as he realized he no longer had it and looked around. But then he saw his pet monkey, hopping up and down and screeching like mad. He saw that the little critter was pointing towards the cave tunnel that led back to the port. And then that's when he saw the smoke coming out.

Barbossa's face then contorted to a mix of surprise, and anger, as he turned towards his crew and shouted, "The Medallion! They've taken it! Get after those two, you feckless pack of ingrates!"

The pirates roared at that, racing towards the docks, and to get to the longboats. But when they got their, weapons at the ready and torches up, they were in surprise for what they saw. The longboats were all ablaze with a blanket of fire over them; the engines completely destroyed by small explosions that the fire started. One of the engines let out a small burst of explosive flame, nearly startling the pirates.

Pintel cried out, "That sneaky git; he set the boats on fire!"

Bo'sun then looked around and saw none of the fire extinguishers at all as well, "Well don't just stand there…PUT THEM OUT!" And the pirates tried to do so at the moment.

But at the very same time, who would be stumbling out of there to get out of there, than Eric and Jack Sparrow. Jack was still a little woozy from getting hit in the head, so Eric had to help support him up. They tried to get out of there as fast as they could, but to no avail, they saw the pirates at the longboats, trying desperately to put out the fires. Then Eric gulped at that as he turned to Jack's still dizzy state as he stated, "I think we should go the other way."

Not knowing what was going on and still feeling a little disoriented, Jack nodded, "Think you're right on that….Victoria."

Eric raised an eyebrow as he just mumbled, "I think I liked 'Larry' a lot better than that.", and then turned around, only before they got the first step out of there, the rest of the pirates were right behind them.

They were a little confused at seeing the boy, but not as much as seeing their former captain…alive and well. They were a little stunned by this action; remembering that they left Jack on a deserted island for death. But after they saw that it was that helped him; the pirate Smithy that betrayed them, their bloodlust rose back up. Eric knew they were dead where they stood, so he decided to make a swim for it with Jack, but then saw that the pirates blocked their way out at the front.

It was Pintel and Ragetti, who was at the front, that saw Jack as Pintel growled, as he pointed to Jack, "You're 'sposed to be dead!"

Jack, getting a little of his bearings back, questioned, "Am I not?", Eric shook his head exhausted, but then turned to uneasiness as weapons were pointed right at them. From both sides guns and swords were pointed right all around them, in a threatening manner. Seeing the weapons, Jack snapped out of his daze, and remembered what had happened; he looked to Eric, a little annoyed, but then turned back to the task at hand.

They needed a way out of this, and knew of only one thing as he blurted out, "Palulay.", he frowned at that, and tried again, "Palu-li-la-la-lulu.", it seemed to Jack that he was still a little disoriented form the blow, as he couldn't remember the word he needed to say. Eric and the pirates looked at him like he had lost his already lost mind. Jack tried once again once again to remember the word, saying other words that seem to sound like it, "Parlili, Parsnip, Parsely, Partner, Parber…."

It was then that Ragetti's face lit up, as he pointed to Jack and Eric as he asked, "Parley?"

Jack snapped his fingers as he smiled at that, "That's the one!", he then turned towards the other pirates as he shouted, "PARLEY!"

Ragetti smirked at that accomplishment, but then frowned as Pintel scowled him as he asked through gritted teeth, "Parley?", he then growled as he pointed his gun, not shooting but threatening, "Damn to the depth whatever man that thought up Parley."

Jack leaned in and answered that question, "That would be the French. Though Latin based of course.", he then broke apart from Eric's help, and stood up as he proclaimed to them all, "Inventors of mayonnaise."

Pintel smiled at the sound of Mayonnaise as he looked to the other pirates, "I like Mayonnaise.", the other pirates, aside from Bo'sun, smirked at that and nodded in agreement.

Jack nodded at that but continued on as he stated, "The shame about the French, eh? Obsessed with raisins; humiliated grapes, really. Think about it.", he waved his hand in a motion to describe it.

Pintel raised an eyebrow and just shrugged, "Don't know."

And then Jack pointed out, "Terrific thing is the French…", and then with a snip of his fingers and pointing to Eric, he finished, with a whistle sound, "…Eunuchs. All of them." Eric just groaned with embarrassment after being called or claimed to be a eunuch again, even as the pirates winched at him from whatever the pain the boy had taken.

Grapple, being near Pintel and Ragetti, commented to them both about eunuchs, "That's not right."

Pintel grunted with disgust, "I once dated a eunuch.", and then everyone looked at him funny and disgusted. Pintel then shouted, "I thought it was a woman!"

Back at the Interceptor

After they had waited, Dax and Ariel had swum back to the Interceptor. As soon as they got to the side of the Interceptor, she grabbed one of the rope ladders, and while still holding on to it, Dax gave her the Calypso Bracelet. Her tail and fins disappeared as her legs returned, still wearing her clothing from before. Dax jumped up on her shoulder as they proceeded to climb up the rope.

As soon as she stepped aboard the ship, she nearly gasped at what she saw. Pirates aboard the ship, all standing in front of here, almost waiting for someone to come aboard. She grimaced at this sight of predicament, and wondered, 'Eric…what were you thinking, sending me on another pirate ship?'

Sebastian peeked out of Ariel's skirt pocket, and saw the pirates as well, as he paled and squeaked, "Not more pirates."

However, their fears and desperation soon melted away as they saw a familiar face pop up. it was Frey, dressed up in a weird pirate getup, and step up and smile at Ariel, saying, "Welcome aboard the Interceptor, Ariel."

Ariel lit up, seeing a familiar friend, as she rushed to give him a hug, "Frey!", and then broke it as she still smiled, seeing a friend.

It was then that Frey raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Where's Eric?"

Gibbs stepped up as he asked as well, "Aye, lass. Where be Jack?"

It was then that Ariel remembered that name and looked at Frey, nearly interrogating, "Jack? As in Jack Sparrow?"

Frey nodded as they broke the hug as he explained, "When Eric decided to rescue you, we needed someone to get us here. So he decided to get Jack Sparrow to help us out." Ariel looked at him with a confused eyebrow raised up, and then he stated, "He's not all that bad…just a little loopy in the head."

It was then that Anamaria stepped up and asked, "You still didn't answer the question. Where are those two?"

It was then that Dax, who was standing on the rail, sighed. Not liking what he had to say to get them to go, he answered, "They fell behind."

The pirates, even Frey, gasped at that and looked to each other uncertain, but lamenting on what they had to do. Ariel was the only one slightly confused by that, not knowing what it was they were lamenting about. It was then that Gibbs sighed, and regretting on leaving behind two friends, looked to the crew and stated, "Keep to the Code." They all shouted 'Aye', in unison, and began making preparations on departing.

Confused and slightly worried, Ariel looked to Frye as she asked, "Wait, what are they doing? What does he mean by, Keep to the Code?"

Frey sighed at this, scratching the back of his head. He knew she wasn't going to take this well, but knew he had to know. He simply answered, "Pirates' code. Anyone who falls behind is left behind." Ariel's face went wide with surprised fear as those words processed in her head. She looked to Dax, to see if what Frey said was a lie or some kind of joke. The little otter shook his head, stating clear and then it was the truth.

Ariel then broke towards the railing, and stopped there. She leaned over as she shouted towards the cave, in a failed attempt to reach out to Eric, "Eric! You liar! You said you were coming back for me! You promised!", and then she slumped to her knees, and her forehead resting on the rail, as she cried, realizing she would never see Eric.

Back in the Cave

The pirates had rounded up Jack and Eric, and led them to Barbossa who was waiting for them. He walked down to the two, cutting through the pirates that made him a path to the two that waited there. Barbossa stopped in front of the two; Jack leaning on an old oar while Eric stood next to him with shi arms crossed. Barbossa speculated that this 'Smithy' was working with someone, but he didn't expect it to be the last person he thought of. He looked at Jack, almost despising him, but curious about something as he asked, "How the blazes did you get off that island?"

Jack just stated as he stated with clear confidence in his voice, "When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you left out one very important thing, mate." All the pirates, including Barbossa, were slightly confused and waited for Jack's answer. Then Jack smirked as he pointed out, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

Barbossa nodded to that as he lightly and mockingly stated, "Ah, well I won't be makin' that mistake…again." He then looked to the crew as he mockingly asked, "Gents, y'all remember Capt. Jack Sparrow?" The men all cackled at that question, and then Barbossa ordered as he turned and walked the other way, "Kill 'em both."

All the pirates, including Pintel who was smirking viciously, pulled out their guns, automatic rifles, and shotguns. They then aimed them at the two as they were prepared to fire. But before they could even pull the trigger, Jack shot out to Barbossa, "The girl's blood didn't work, did it?"

Barbossa stopped there for a moment in his tracks, and sighed in annoyance; Jack knew something that he didn't. And sighing in defeat, Barbossa barked, "Hold yer fire!" The pirates put down their firearms, begrudging this whole thing. And then Barbossa walked back to the two, and then asked, "You know whose blood we need?"

Jack smirked at this, while Eric had a wry eye about this as Jack answered, "I know whose blood you need."

Next Chapter: The Cursed Treasure; the Black Pearl vs. the Interceptor pt.2