Small Disclaimer: In the middle of the chapter, Jack does something during the battle that I must admit, I got from the classic "Raiders Of The Lost Ark". Those who're familiar with it will recognize it. Anyway, just wanted to get that off my chest. Happy Reading.

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Chapter 16

Reluctantly, Jack closed the lid to the treasure chest. He stood up and looked at Will, who nodded as they both grabbed a handle on either side of the treasure chest and lifted it with all their might. Carefully, they brought it over to rest under the protective shade of a palm tree. Once they had dropped it back onto the ground, both Jack and Will wiped the sweat from their brows. After that, they plopped down onto the sand to recess from their difficult task for a moment; Elizabeth came over to join them. However, not one of them seemed to notice the charging horde of creatures until the beasts were practically upon them.

"Oh, give me a break!" Jack jumped up while drawing his sword, as did Will and Elizabeth. They brought their blades up just in the nick of time as their foes swung their own swords down. Each of the trio strained under the enormous weight of the vicious pirates until they themselves had enough strength to force the monsters away. Now with a little bit more space, Jack, Will and Elizabeth backed away, swords still clutched between their fingers and ready for battle.

The monsters/pirates charged again, this time with more fury. The swordfight started up again as the trio re-engaged their opponents with just as much force.

Jack swung his blade back and forth while spinning around in circles, which allowed him to take on as many pirates as possible. He shoved the nearest one away with the sole of his boot, which caused a domino effect that made every other brute behind the first fall over in rapid succession. Jack then raced over to secure the treasure, but was halted by another vicious scoundrel. Jack began to maneuver his blade up and down, left and right as he and his opponent danced to the clanging of metal. As Jack's sword collided hard with the pirate's, the force of the blow gave Jack the opportunity to shove the opposing blade away. Jack then landed a hard punch to the face, causing the bandit to stagger backwards a few steps. Enraged now, the beast charged Jack, but apparently wasn't quick enough as Jack jumped up, caught hold of a branch, and swung his feet forward just as his enemy was close enough. The pirate fell to the ground, and Jack took the chance to knock him unconscious for good. Satisfied with himself, Jack rejoined the rest of the battle.

Will and Elizabeth were currently double-teaming a group of bloodthirsty savages. Each of them helped out each other, improving on any weakness their partner showed. Will stepped forward, back, forward, then back again, matching his adversary's each and every move. When the creature attempted to try and chop off Will's legs, Will's reflexes kicked in as he leaped into midair before his feet returned to solid earth. The pirate then grabbed Will's arm as he forced his blade upon Will's and they both began to step around in continuous circles and many other different shapes. Finally, the pirate pushed Will away, and then ran at Will full-force. Acting quickly, Will ran towards a tree trunk, placed his feet firmly against it as he ran up a few steps and finally flipped clear over the brute's head and landing safely back on his feet. Immediately, the scoundrel swung his blade towards Will, but to no avail; Will easily blocked every move. Finally, Will spun twice, bringing his elbow up to slam into the pirate's face at the very end of the second spin. Smiling to himself, Will ran over to help Elizabeth.

Elizabeth had already taken down two pirates and was currently on her third. She showed no mercy in each blow she landed, her agility and reflexes as sharp as ever. Will suddenly popped up beside her and they worked together to bring down the creature. In synchronization, Will and Elizabeth each sliced their blades into the chest of the wraith's chest, forming an "X". The pirate then fell over dead. The moment the body hit the ground with a dull thud, two more pirates ran up on either side of Will and Elizabeth. Will and Elizabeth both gave each other a look, smirked, nodded, and then leaped back as one just as both pirates plunged their swords into the spot where Will and Elizabeth had stood moments before. But instead of simply slicing into thin air, the tips of each blade pierced the skin of each creature, killing them instantly. Will and Elizabeth both raced into the rest of the chaos.

At the same time, one of the transformed figures cautiously approached the treasure chest. But before he could even place his fingers on the wooden surface, a big rock collided hard with the side of his head. From a few feet away, Jack smiled as he raced over to the chest.

Meanwhile, Will and Elizabeth were surrounded by dozens of attacking pirates who were rapidly closing in around them by the second. But just before anyone could make their move, something huge and hard collided with the heads of a few of the pillagers. Will and Elizabeth glanced up to see Jack using the chest as a weapon, violently swinging it back and forth in front of him in an attempt to defeat many numbers at once. Will and Elizabeth both recognized their means of escape and took it without hesitation after inconspicuously removing two whips from the belts of two of the pirates distracted by Jack's antics. As the pirates turned back around to take care of their victims, sudden confusion invaded their minds. The two humans were gone! Desperately, the beasts began to swipe their swords into the long grass, hoping that they would come into contact with human flesh.

They didn't notice this, but behind them, Will and Elizabeth stood, whips grasped tightly in their palms, with the ends of the leathery ropes tied around the branches of the trees directly over them. A split-second later, Will and Elizabeth were in the air, flying towards the backs of their unsuspecting opponents. Their feet crashed into the backs of the pirates, sending them flying a few feet away.

Will and Elizabeth then landed back on the ground, and were met with the sight of even more approaching pirates. Immediately, Will and Elizabeth recoiled the whips and threw the ends toward the many blades. Just as they had anticipated, the whips wrapped around the swords, and Will and Elizabeth tugged, causing the weapons to come soaring towards them. They caught the blades by their hilt and ran straight at the defenseless pirates as they scattered in fear.

At the same time, Jack was facing a brawny pirate who had a sword the size and width of our blades combined. The monster chuckled as he showed Jack his skills by flipping and twisting the large sword in many different maneuvers until he finally brought it to rest right in front of him. For a moment, Jack just looked at him with an expression that just screamed out "Oh please!" After that, Jack sighed heavily as he pulled out his pistol, aimed it, and fired. The bulky brute fell to the sand in silent shock as the bullet made its way through his exposed flesh. Jack then smiled triumphantly as he replaced his pistol with his sword.

A few feet away, Will and Elizabeth were battling two more vicious pirates. Both of them swung their blades in many ways, attempting to beat their opponents with little effort. However, the two villains managed to shove the young couple to the ground as they each removed a small bomb from their belts and lit the fuses. Then, the plunderers thrust the explosives with all their might, screaming viciously. Will and Elizabeth managed to dive away from the explosives just in time, as two palm trees suffered from the blast. The shockwave caused Will and Elizabeth to go sprawling once again on the sandy ground as their opponents slowly advanced from behind. Will and Elizabeth scrambled away on their backs until a large wooden log halted them. Both of the young pirates looked up at their salvation and smiled, jumping up sharply. After making their way behind the log, Will and Elizabeth pushed with all their might against it until the log began to slowly but steadily roll. As it gained enough force, the log rushed forward until it trampled the two defenseless pirates. Will and Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief, but not for long though, as the two beasts slowly got to their feet; one pulled out a pistol and fired off a shot, which landed in the bark of a tree just to the right of Elizabeth's head. As one of them bore down upon her, Elizabeth slashed her sword, timing it just right so that it connected with her adversary's at just the right moment. After a few more moments of relentless dueling, Elizabeth saw an opening and took it as she kicked the pirate's sword into the air and caught it. This did not seem to faze the brute, however, as he charged forward; Elizabeth easily grabbed him by his shoulders, shoved him up against a tree, and punched him full in the face. The pirate slumped to the sand.

Jack was currently very busy, as he was dueling an inhuman adversary. The monster was surprisingly swift in his movements, matching each one of Jack's with ease. Jack didn't seem to see a way out, but a dumb-luck moment presented itself once again as Jack spotted the large hole in the ground right behind his rival. Smirking, Jack kept lunging forward until he had forced the pirate to go clambering down into the hole.

"Tough luck, mate," he commented.

Jack turned to see the current condition of the treasure chest. At the moment, another one of Blackbeard's cronies was cautiously approaching it. Jack's eyes widened as he ran up behind the pirate and swiftly knocked him unconscious with the hilt of his sword. As Jack knelt down, Will and Elizabeth rushed up to his side.

"We need to get to a safe place," said Will.

"I second that," Jack agreed, replacing his sword and firmly grabbing one handle of the chest. Will picked up on this and efficiently did the same.

"You're gonna have to serve as our protection, luv," Jack told Elizabeth.

Elizabeth nodded as she stepped in stride with her two comrades, sword leveled in front of her.

At the same time, the three remaining pirates charged the trio, blades raised high over their heads. Once they were close enough, Elizabeth engaged them without hesitation. All four blades were a blur as they all made their way across the lush land. Finally, Elizabeth managed to hit the closest pirate in the face with her hilt and knocked the other two swords away in one clean swipe. Elizabeth smiled before bringing the two heads together full-force; the pirates immediately slumped to the ground. Sighing deeply, Elizabeth replaced her sword.

"You know, for a woman you're not half-bad." Jack gave Elizabeth a roguish grin.

"Just keep going," she said.

As the trio made their way to a safe location, one more pirate poked his head up from the tall grass. This particular one had stayed behind to be prepared for a situation just like this; if the prisoners made an attempt to escape with the treasure. The beast made a dash for his victims in an instant.

Jack, Will, and Elizabeth never saw the pirate racing towards them until it was too late. He sprinted up behind Elizabeth, grabbing her around the waist and placing his blade at her neck while transforming back into his human form.

"Drop the chest and back away, or she dies!" It was the guard that Jack had knocked unconscious back inside the prison.

Jack and Will began to make an attempt to do something, but the guard tightened his hold on Elizabeth. "Ah, ah, ah. I won't hesitate in killing her." The looter's tone was unwavering.

Jack and Will held his gaze for a few long moments before finally obliging and placing the chest onto the ground and backing away reluctantly.

"I thought as much," the pillager hissed into Elizabeth's ear. "That they would do anything to protect you."

"Poor judgement on your part, I must admit," Elizabeth shot back before forcefully stepping down hard on the brute's foot and then swinging her arm into his face. The pirate lost his grip on Elizabeth, occupying his hands with rubbing his sore face.

Elizabeth made an attempt to run away, having underestimated her attacker. But through the wave of pain, the marauder whipped out a piece of thick string with heavy balls on either end, swung it over his head, and threw it toward Elizabeth's legs. The weapon wrapped itself tightly around her legs and brought her crashing to the ground. The guard then raced over to her, forcefully grabbed her neck, and brought it up while placing his blade at her throat once again.

"Let's try that again, shall we?" The pirate turned Elizabeth's head so that she was looking directly into his soulless eyes. Elizabeth spat in the villain's face. The buccaneer wiped the moisture from his eye and looked up towards Will and Jack.

"Toss me your swords. Now."

With hateful expressions plastered across their faces, Jack and Will did as they were told. The bandit smirked as he scooped them up before taking Elizabeth's. The guard then dragged Elizabeth over to the chest and grabbed it. He then held out his muscular arm.

"Grab on," he growled.

Jack and Will gave each other a look before obliging. Once they had a firm hold, an odd feeling immediately took them over. It was like they had been pulled forward rather hard by some inhumanly strong hands and dropped back down onto the ground forcefully.

Once again on level ground, the trio glanced around at their new surroundings; they had arrived back at the entrance to the Bermudan Prison. In front of the gate, Blackbeard and a few other men stood waiting for them.

"Did you actually think that you could escape from me?" Blackbeard clucked his teeth. "It would seem that your previous punishment didn't have the anticipated effect."

He approached the treasure chest. "However, I must say that you did a rather commendable job of locating the treasure. Saved us a lot of trouble." Blackbeard motioned with his hand for two of his men to take the treasure chest inside, which they did. "To the victor go the spoils, I'm afraid." He eyed Jack and Will. "Solitary confinement for those two for the rest of the day. As for the wench," he faced Elizabeth, "I believe I promised you some fun, Mardas. Do what you wish."

"NO!" Will leaped out, grabbing a sword from a nearby pirate's scabbard. "You will not lay another finger on my wife!"

A pirate jumped forth and attempted to disarm Will, but Will was already anticipating him. As Will threw him away, he didn't notice another rogue creeping up behind him, bringing the hilt of his sword down hard on Will's head. Every pirate laughed viciously as Elizabeth called out his name.

"Will!"

Two pirates grabbed Will's limp form and dragged him inside to a solitary confinement cell. As that transpired, Blackbeard bent down to face Jack.

"You've tested your luck long enough. You're hereby sentenced to execution at dusk one week from now."

"Shove it, you hairy git!"

"Take him away," Blackbeard ordered.

As his order was carried out, Blackbeard walked over to Mardas, who was currently holding Elizabeth.

"Whatever it is that you plan on doing, do it out here."

"Yes, Cap'n."

Blackbeard smirked remorselessly as he entered the cave, leaving Elizabeth alone with her few captors.

"Fun time, poppet."

Mardas forcefully shoved Elizbeth into the waiting hands of the grouped-up pirates. The hands caught her as she screamed in protest at the top of her lungs. Every hand hungrily grabbed at every inch of her body, snaking their fingers all the way down from her breasts to her bottom, up and down every inch of her legs and midsection and back again. Mardas stepped forward and grinned evily; he grabbed her shirt and began to take it off. Elizabeth's shoulders were soon exposed and then the tops of her breasts, but before Mardas could go any further, a swift noise halted him. Mardas' expression soon transformed from one of deep lust to one of utter shock. Confused, Elizabeth glanced down to see a small dagger protruding from his left side. An instant later, Mardas coughed up a downpour of blood and collapsed to the ground.

Elizabeth looked to her right and relief immediately came pouring back into her soul. Will was standing there, sword outstretched in one hand and pistol loaded in the other. Will raised the pistol and shot the pirate currently holding Elizabeth. He then leaped forward and plunged his blade into the remaining three's hearts.

Elizabeth stood shell-shocked for a moment as she came to her senses while Will pulled her shirt back up over her shoulders and then enveloped her in a warm embrace before kissing her tenderly. Finally, words came.

"How did you...?"

"Regained consciousness rather quickly and came to save you. Come on, we need to get away from here."

He grabbed Elizabeth's hand and quickly led her away from the cave.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I think the Black Pearl is still moored to the island. We can climb aboard, get properly armed, and come back here to save the crew."

"And the treasure?"

"That's only secondary at the moment."

With that, Will and Elizabeth raced away into the lush expanse of trees to the shore, where the Black Pearl was currently moored.