Chapter 8: Aztec Gold.

Disclaimer: I do not own any POTC or its script.

AN: Alright, I've had some comments and just to clarify Jack goes with Hayley! She will always go with Jack! Janine on the other hand, you'll have to wait until the end of the story to find out.

The edge of a black sail cuts into the foreground, accompanied by the roar of the wind and the snap of canvas, but below deck Elizabeth and Sam battle…mentally if not physically.

"I cannot believe you took Will's name!"

"ah, callin' him Will now are you?"

"I've ALWAYS called him Will, you who just happens to waltz in and –"

"Completely charm him in more ways then you can ever hope?" Sam asked helpfully. Elizabeth fumed. This girl had completely come out of nowhere and stolen everything away from her! Well maybe not everything, she still had will's heart…she hoped. Just ten the door opened. Pintel and Ragetti enter, holding between them a black silk dress, and a emerald green silk dress. Pintel spoke first.

"You'll be dining with the Captain, and he requests you wear this." He tossed the red silk dress at Elizabeth and the green one at Sam.

"Well you may tell the captain that we are disinclined to acquiesce to his request."

"Speak for yourself." Sam said, "I love food, and I'm never passing a chance to indulge." Elizabeth stared at her with an open mouth.

"Well I AM disinclined to acqui-"

"He said you'd say that! He also said if that be the case, you'll be dining with the crew, and you'll be naked." Angry, Elizabeth holds out her hand. Ragetti's grin fades.

"fine then,"

"Yeah, well the captain await you." Pintel said to Sam, Sam smiled.

"Sweet!" They exit and Elizabeth glares at Sam.

"hey I'm hungry, I don't care about posture and stuff." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. When they finished changing, Bo'sun as well as other pirates set out trays of food, wine, table setting, etc. Barbossa enters shortly after almost amused, would be a way to describe the face of his. The Monkey scrambles off his shoulder to a perch. Barbossa appraises Elizabeth in the dress- lovely. Sam-beautiful.

"Maid or not, it suits you." Sam curtsied.

"thanks."

"Dare I ask the fate of its previous owner?" Elizabeth asked keeping her posture in check. Barbossa's eye narrowed for a moment.

"Now, none of that. Please dig in." Sam sits down quickly and cuts a huge piece of pork and chops down on it hungrily, then takes a huge gulp of wine. Elizabeth sits, cuts a tiny piece of meat, and eats it daintily. Barbossa looked at Elizabeth with amusement.

"No need to stand on ceremony, and no call to impress anyone. You must be hungry." Elizabeth drops the pretense: she's starving, and begins to eat like it. Barbossa watches her intently.

"Try the wine." Sam said, mouth full of food. Elizabeth does, a huge swig; tears off a hunk of bread and continues greedily. Sam blinks at her.

"wow…and I thought I was hungry"

"And the apples one of those next." She starts to bite into the apple stops. She is suddenly aware that Barbossa is staring at her. So are the other pirates. So is the Monkey.

"You eat it."

"Would that I could."

"It's poisoned." She shoves her plate away and sam quickly reaches over and grabs the left over pork and mashed potates (ok I know they didn't have those back then, but just pretend). Barbossa laughs.

"Oh, there would be no sense to be killing you, Miss Turner." Sam pointed her herself.

"and me."

"you especially not."

"fewf, ok just making sure the lst thing I wasn't is to bee looking down from a cloud and be like 'oh hey look there's my body' that would be dreadful."

"then release us you have your trinket we're of no further value to you."

"he needs us to break the curse you nimrod" Sam said leaning on the hind legs of her cahin and feet up on the table, where her plate once was.

"what curse?" Elizabeth askes. Barbossa dangles the medallion.

"Do you not know what this is, then?"

"A pirate medallion."

"This is Aztec gold. One of eight hundred eighty two identical pieces they delivered in a stone chest to Cortes himself. Blood money, paid to stem the slaughter he wreaked upon them with his armies.

But the greed of Cortes was insatiable. Thousands more fell to blade and ball, their voices crying out for vengeance as their blood stained the Earth. And so the heathen gods placed upon the gold a terrible curse." Elizabeth is intrigued, but refuses to admit it.

"I hardly believe in ghost stories any more, Captain Barbossa."

"Aye! That's exactly what I thought when we were first told the tale! Buried on an Island of the Dead what can't be found 'cept by those who know where it 'tis." Barbossa rounds the table and lowers himself to her level, he looks over at Sam whose cleaning the underside of her nails with the tip of the knife.

"Find it we did, and there be the chest, and inside be the coins. Each man to his share and we took 'em all. We spent 'em and traded 'em and frittered 'em away for drink and food and pleasurable company. But the more we gave 'em away, the more we came to realize: the drink would not satisfy, and the food turned to ash in our mouth, and all the pleasurable company in the world would not slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner. Compelled by greed we were, but now we are consumed by it." The monkey screeches; Barbossa consoles it.

"but there is one way for them to be free." Sam concludes, "All the scattered pieces of the Aztec gold must be restored, and the blood repaid."

"Ten years we searched, looting ship and port, sifting through our plunder for it all. Eight hundred and eighty-one of 'em we found, despairing of ever finding the last. And all the while you fancied it a trinket 'round that pretty neck or to stash beneath your pillow while you read your pirate fairy tales."

"But thanks to you, we have the final piece. Once we've reunited it with its mates, we are free." Barbossa says smiling.

"And the blood to be repaid?"

"that's why there's no sense to be killing ye…"

"yet." Sam finishes, but then she leans back thinking that Elizabeth should take the stage for a moment. Elizabeth is horrified. With the toe of his boot, Barbossa flips an apple up off the floor, catches it, and offers it.

"Apple?" Elizabeth slowly reaches for the apple and then comes up out of her chair, trying to run around Barbossa. They struggle briefly, and then suddenly he shoves her away, Elizabeth's stolen knife is buried in Barbossa's chest but Barbossa is completely unaffected. He opens his shirt to get a better look at the knife, pulls it out with little effort. There is blood on the blade, but none anywhere else.

"I'm curious -- after killing me, what is it you planned to do next?" Elizabeth backs away, whirls and barrels out the door blindly, Elizabeth races forward then stares, her jaw working, trying to scream but unable to. The pirate crew works at their stations coiling lines, navigating the ship, swabbing decks they sing a sea chanty as they work but where the moonlight falls across their bodies, they are naught but skeletons. Elizabeth turns away, runs and gets caught in the turning capstan, where two skeleton pirate musicians ride the capstan as it turns - Elizabeth jumps away, falls into a cargo hold, bounces back up off a sail. She evades a pirate, hides beneath the steps to the aft deck Suddenly, the skeletal monkey drops into frame with a screech, clutching the medallion. Elizabeth bolts towards the cabin again, Sam was with the skeleton musicians learning a few notes on the violin. Barbossa grabs Elizabeth roughly by the shoulders and jerks her back around, Elizabeth shuts her eyes.

"Look!" Elizabeth looks the pirate crew are silent, now, all of them motionless, all of them staring straight at her.

"The moonlight shows us for what we really are! We are, not among the living, and so cannot die -- but neither are we dead! For too long I have been parched of thirst, and unable to quench it! Too long, I have been starving to death -- and haven't died-!" SCREEECCCCHHHH! They all turned to Sam who held the bow across the body of the violin. She smiled meekly.

"whoops. Sorry carry on." Barbossa turns back to Elizabeth.

\"I feel nothing ... Not the wind on my face, nor the spray of the sea ..." he then reaches towards Elizabeth his arm engulfed by the moonlight, revealing the bones and tattered coat that once used to be intact.

"... nor the warmth of a woman's flesh-" SCREEECH! Barbossa whirled around annoyed. "Would someone get that blasted violin outta 'er arms!" Elizabeth flinches away. He walks forward into the moonlight, turning it into a gleaming skull with gold and silver teeth.

"You'd best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Swan. You're in one." Sam hands him a wine bottle, uncorks it with his teeth, gives her a little toast, and then drinks. The wine runs through his jaw and rib cage, drenching his clothes. Elizabeth darts around him, back into the cabin, and shuts the door. Barbossa hurls the bottle at the door, slamming it shut. He turned to him men and his jaw (literally) drops down and he begins to laugh heartily.

"What are ye lookin' at back to work!" and the crew scurry around to the stations. Sam holds another bottle of wine from the racks and hands it to the captain, having brought her glass with her and filling it to the brim.

"cheers." She says then takes a sip. Barbossa blinks then tosses the bottle over the side of the Pearl and walks away. Sam's mouth drops open.

"Hey! Do you know how much that would've cost! It was a 12 year old wine! 12 years!" Barbossa's…skeleton-fades off into the sea of bones.

"Jerk" and Elizabeth huddles in the far corner of the cabin, terrified. (hee hee).

Day 2-Tortuga port.

A weatherbeaten group of swabs stand in a ragged line up.

"Feast your eyes, Cap'n. All of 'em faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt and crazy, to boot." Gibbs says as Jack, Hayley and Will walk up and down the line. Will is not impressed. Will walks up to one of them who carries a parrot on their head.

"You, sailor–"

"Cotton." Gibbs supplies, Hayley takes a quick step infront of Will.

"Mr. Cotton. Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Will waved his hand infront of Cotton's face, Hayley punches his shoulder.

"you twit he's a mute. He got his tongue cut out." Jack grimaces.

"so he taught the parrot to talk for him…no-one's yet figured how…"Gibbs added thoughtfully. Jack gets it and tries:

"Mr. Cotton's… Parrot. Same question."

"Wind in your SAILS! Wind in your SAILS!" the parrot skawks.

"Mostly, we figure that means 'yes.'"

"Of course it does." Hayley looked at Will.

"Hey I've got an idea." Hayley stands on a barrel so she can be seen by all the "crew" members.

"I put it to all of you: we're venturing a rescue here, and if any man is unwilling to face the perils of Isla de Muerta and the Black Pearl" then added quickly and quietly to Jack:

"And for the purposes of this interrogatory, presume that all stories you've heard are true." She turnes back to the "crew"

"Then let him leave now!" He waits, watches. Some of the sailors exchange nervous glances, others look more determined than ever, but none leave to Jack and Hayley's relief and partial, amazement. She gets off and looks at Will.

"Still here. Satisfied?"

"well you've proven they're mad."

"and what is the benefit for us?" askes a voice near the end (or should I say beginning) of the line. Jack turns at the sound of the voice as pirates murmur agreement. Jack moves along, stops in front of a hunched sailor, eyes downcast, face shaded by a buckled tricorn hat. Jack leans to the side, trying to peer beneath the hat. The sailor looks up it's Anamaria. And she's angry.

"AnaMaria." Really angry. She smacks Jack with a hard right cross.

"I guess you didn't deserve that one wither." Jack and Hayley shook their head and said simultaneously:

"no that one I/he deserved."

"You stole my boat!"

"Actually-" AnaMaria goes to smak him again when Hayley intervines. She looks at Anamaria and gives a 'jack bow'.

"may i? I've always wanted to see how it felt like…" Anamaria gestered a pissed off 'be my guest' Hayley spins on the heal of her boot, and smacks him, sending him sprawling.

"thanks." Hayley moved back beside Jack who sends her an evil glare, Hayley smiles and blows him a kiss mouthing out 'I love you'. Jack turns his attention back toAnamaria.

"Borrowed. Without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back."

"But you didn't!"

"You'll get another one!"

"I will." Anamaria threatens, Will steps in.

"A better one." Jack agrees.

"a better one." Will then points to the Interceptor.

"that one" Jack is lost.

"wot one?" Will nodds his head to their current ship.

"that one?!" Jack snaps a wide eyed look at Will "What are you talking about?" Will gives him a hard look in return "Get with the program!". Jack realizes it's a good plan.

"Aye, that one! What say you?" The sailors respond: "Aye," as they walk away you could hear parrot.

"Anchors Aweigh!" Gibbs, nervously, walks up to jack, fiddling with his fingers.

"Just a mention, sir, a friendly remainder, as it were, but it's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir." Hayley glances up at the sky, back to Gibbs.

"It'll be far worse not to have her." She and Jack move away. Gibbs and Will exchange a puzzled look.

Hayley walked back up on deck and into the cabin, where Janine stood full dressed and inserting the muskets into their places holders.

"Alright I think I've got everything" she mutters to herself then turns around and is faced with Hayley; Janine's cheeks instantly start to heat up. No way! Stop! Stop! Think algebra think Quadratics: yax2+bx+c, y(x-s)(x-t). : yax2+bx+c, y(x-s)(x-t) : yax2+bx+c, y(x-s)(x-t)…

"Hey Hayley." Janine said quickly. Hayley gave a small smile like she wasn't impressed with something.

"Hey, you alright? How's your hangover?" Janine blinked.

"What hangover?"

"…you know…a hangover, where you consume so much alcohol that your body becomes sick and you have a massive headache and puke…you know…hangover!" Janine blinked again.
"I never got one. I think the swaying of the ship is neutralizing it."

"Wow.."

"What? Did you get a hangover?"

"Not just that, but you used a word that has more then 5 letters in it. I'm so proud of you." Hayley pulled Janine into a nuggie.
"Ow! My head, my hair! I'm going to shoot you!" Hayley laughed as Janine tried to fix her hair. Even though she was smiling, Janine could tell that something was fazing her close friend.

"Hey…what's up with you?"

"Hmm? Oh nothing I'm just…tired" Janine chuckled.

"You also paused between 'just' and 'tired' so you gonna tell me the real reason?" Janine mimicked.

"It's just…"

"What?"

"Jack doesn't…"

"Notice you?" Janine filled in, Hayley didn't nod, but Janine took it as one.

"Well you know Jack, unless you're in skimpy clothes…well that's not true. Hales, just…flirt with him. He's Jack, and you're a very attractive woman."

Hayley gave a mock laugh. "HA! Yeah sure."

"Seriously hales you're one of the most gorgeous people I know." Janine said "trust me." She muttered to no-one. Then Jack came from the Prow Janine pushed her into him.

"Go get'im tiger." Janine leaned against the railing with a smug grin. Hayley would kill her after this, but it was priceless. She looked up to the sky it was already become thing dark, looking at he rope near the Mizzen mast she frowned.

"well better start securing the life lines…"

A flash of lightening and a crack of thunder tear through the night like a knife, the canvas is stretched taut and the ship rocks into a swell, climbing up the other side. The crew are excellent, practiced sailors, but it still takes everything they have to keep the ship afloat.

And Hayley is at the helm. Will looks forward, to where Jack is out near the prow, and faces the storm head on. He glances down at his compass and nods.

"How can we find an island no one can find with a compass that doesn't work?" Janine tied the rope back to the base as she yelled over the rain and gale:

"Aye, the compass doesn't point north. But we're not trying to find north, are we? The ship tilts; Hayley fights the wheel.

"That fool will have us lose the sails, and the masts besides!" Gibbs nods, moves away towards Jack. a roaring wind blowing back Jack hair, eyes intent on their course. Gibbs climbs the tilted deck toward him.

"We'd best drop canvas, sir!"

"She can hold a bit longer!" The wind picks even more, howling, making every move the ship makes groan in pain. Jack smiles.

"What's in your head as puts you in such a fine mood, Captain?"

"We're catching up!" Jack check his compass again, looks back to sea, enjoying himself. Gibbs stares at him like he's a crazy man and heads back to the canvas. They'd just have to trust their captain. Janine climbs up the ringing and from below she can hear someone shouting at her, but doesn't recognize who. She keeps climbing unaware that the rigging is about to split.

"JANINE!!" Hayley shouts, trying not to take her eyes off of Jack in case he randomly decides to change direction. Will look at her and shouts:

"I'll go get her!"

"Alright!" but before either of them can make a move, the line snaps, and Janine falls back into the crushing, rapid black depths of the sea. A rope attached to the Mizzen mast quickly tightens. Hayley shouts to Anamaria to take the wheel and skips the steps, grabbing the line. She yanks on the cord and gathers Will and Gibbs to help, surprisingly the rope comes really quickly and once they pull the rope up nothing's attached. Hayley flies to the rail looking for any signs of her friend but all she can see are the crashing waves. Even though a storm was going on in the background the only thing Hayley could hear was silence.

Her best friend was gone.

Wow, interesting ending, I wasn't actually planning on that happening, but hey that's a twist.

I hope you like this one, I honestly can't wait to write the next one.

Till the next chapter!

Ciao, ciao

Pirate With Sea Blue Eyes

Ps. We're only halfway through I'm planning on ending it on 16 chapters (not including the epilogue)