A/N: Expect more frquent updates between now and Christmas; I want to try to finish this before then, due to the fact that I'm getting a brand new laptop for Christmas and want to start writing the rest of my saga on that. Anyway, enjoy!

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Chapter 17

The Cutlass was said to be the fastest Naval vessel in the Caribbean, and that title was certainly appropriate in this instance. The ship had made excellent time in reaching the Bermuda Triangle. Night had fallen over the shallow waters, and the Cutlass was only inches away from crossing the threshold.

Admiral Nathaniel Wilkins stood at the mast, gazing confidently out at the heavy wall of fog looming before him. Wilkins had heard the stories about the Bermuda Triangle; that it was the place where every ship disappeared and was never heard from again. Also known as the Devil's Triangle, the vortex was considered a haunted area, filled to the rim with tortured souls of pirates who had entered the territory. Of course, Wilkins didn't believe any of that rubbish; in the back of his mind he knew that there had to be some sort of logical explanation behind all of the myths and legends. And tonight, Wilkins intended to discover just that in addition to capturing the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow.

The tip of the ship breaking through the ominous barrier jarred Wilkins from his thoughts. As his vessel went further inside, a sudden gush of cool air blew out each of the lanterns hanging in different locations all around the ship. Shrouded in momentary darkness, Wilkins made his way toward the railing of the ship. As Wilkins gazed out at the impenetrable blanket of fog, a feeling of uneasiness started to well up deep down inside of him; it was then that Wilkins wondered if sailing into the Bermuda Triangle had been such a good idea after all.

Another strong gush of wind blew, sending Wilkins stumbling back a few feet. Behind him, Sykes approached.

"What do you make of all this, Admiral?"

"Just a blustery evening, that's all," Wilkins replied evenly.

Seconds later, the lanterns flickered back to life, only to go back out again as the fog subsided. Wilkins and Sykes were met with the sight of the moon reflecting off of the crystal-clear ocean and eerily illuminating many islands scattered about everywhere as far as the eye could see.

"How do we find Sparrow, exactly," Sykes asked Wilkins.

"Simple," Wilkins replied. "We just look for an island that has a ship with black sails moored to it."

"Which is hard to spot during the dead of night."

"Still, I want to make this as quick as possible."

Just then, the ship lurched forcefully, as if it had been pulled backwards by a rather strong hand. The sudden action caused Wilkins and Sykes to go sprawling onto the main deck.

"Did we hit a reef?"

"I don't know."

Navymen came pouring out onto the deck in that instant, curious to discover what exactly had caused the unexpected event. The soldiers scrambled to the sides of the ship, trying to spot any evidence in the ocean below.

As Wilkins and Sykes slowly rose to their feet, something else happened. It started as an earsplitting crack, but the noise soon gave way to the ship's deck breaking entirely in half down the middle. The now cut-in-half ship soon began to sink down into the depths of the dense water, dragging everyone onboard with it. There were a few who managed to get a hold of part of the sinking mass, but they all too soon lost their grip and plummeted into the chilling tide.

Below the remaining men, the ocean started to bubble violently and soon the water began to swirl in constant circles, creating a whirlpool. The whirlpool's force pulled the ship down faster with each passing second. Wilkins commanded his muscles to hold on tighter in order to climb higher, but the battered wood of his ship was too weak to support his weight. Beside him, Sykes finally lost his grip and plunged down into the icy depths. Once Sykes had vanished beneath the black ocean, Wilkins resumed his attempt to escape his imminent fate. As he grunted pulling himself upward, the sound of consecutive creaking filled Wilkins' ears. He glanced sideways and noticed the wood he was currently holding was slowly falling apart. Wilkins' eyes suddenly glazed over with fear and only seconds later, with a sickening crack, the wood of the destroyed ship gave way at last, sending Wilkins tumbling down into the massive whirlpool, his screams drowned out over the rush of water.

The last thing Wilkins remembered before losing consciousness was the feeling of a torrent of water attacking his body. And even after he broke the whirlpool's barrier, Wilkins' body continued to plummet down into an opening in the seabed.

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Will and Elizabeth knew that they were close to the shore because the sound of waves crashing against the sandy ground had become clearer. They both shoved bushes and low-hanging branches from their path until finally, clear land presented itself. Moonlight illuminated the vast shore before them and provided a clear view of the Black Pearl, still moored to the land and intact, just as they had left it.

Heaving deep sighs of relief, Will and Elizabeth raced forward as if trying to outrun some invisible opponent. Once they had reached the gigantic lines of rope that were holding the vessel still, Will and Elizabeth looked at each other.

"Time to climb," Will said.

"Not a problem," replied Elizabeth.

Will and Elizabeth firmly grasped a line of rope each before leaping up and wrapping their legs around them. They then began to make their steady incline upward, inching closer by the minute. The amount of strength that the feat demanded caused Will to pause momentarily in an attempt to let his muscles relax, if only for an instant. He glanced over to check on Elizabeth's status and was surprised to see that his wife was making more progress than him, as she was currently closer to the deck than he. Smirking slightly, Will continued on with the harrowing climb.

Elizabeth was the first to reach the main deck and she helped Will with the few remaining inches he had left. Now safely aboard the Pearl, both glanced around at the dim deck. Will made his way downstairs, with Elizabeth close on his heel, to the cabin that contained the ship's weapons. The first thing Will did was to light the candles and lanterns scattered about the room, providing him with the necessary light that was needed to carry out his actions. Once every source of light had been lit, Will made his way over to a fairly sized cabinet that stood up against the wooden wall. Will opened the cabinet to reveal a line of rifles neatly lined up one after the other. He removed two from the line and closed the doors. Next, Will went about properly loading the long, heavy weapons and retrieving extra ammunition.

"You can't plan on going back there now," said Elizabeth.

"Why not?" Will asked evenly.

"Well, for one, it's the dead of night."

"Which only contributes to the element of surprise."

"But it could be more dangerous at night!"

Will sighed. "Elizabeth, listen. If we have a chance to go back and free the crew from their terrible fate, I'm going to take it the first chance I get. If someone were to die tonight, and we were too late in saving them...it would be too much to bear."

Elizabeth moved closer to him. "I understand that. Really, I do. But if you were to die tonight while trying to save Jack and everyone else, I couldn't go on with the rest of my life."

While Elizabeth said those words, Will could do nothing but stare down at the floor in silence.

"I've known and loved you for many years now, and I know that you are a noble man who must do everything to protect the ones closest to you. But please, I'm begging you...as your wife, the woman you can never stop loving, wait until morning when you've had time to plan out a strategy."

"I don't need a strategy. I just need to save the crew before Blackbeard kills them." Will turned to leave, but Elizabeth grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Will, please. I love you too much to let you walk in there blindly when there's a strong chance that you might get killed."

Will stared back at her. "Are you holding me back because you don't have confidence in me?"

Elizabeth felt her jaw drop. For a moment, she was at a loss for words. "Will..." she whispered. "How...how could you ever think that?"

Will looked away.

"I'll always have confidence in you, no matter what. But can't you see that attacking right this instant isn't necessarily the right thing to do? I care about you too much to just let you risk your life like this. But if you can't see any other alternative plan, and you believe this is the right time to go in there, then I won't stop you. Just know that in nine months we'll have a child to raise and I can't bear to think that our child could grow up without a father. Just...just think for a moment about what you're planning to do and how soon you wish to do it, that's all. I'm begging you to do that, as your wife."

As silent tears began to well up inside Elizabeth's eyes, she turned away, going to the window. Will stood there, cursing himself for being so blind. He didn't even consider the fact that Blackbeard may have guards roaming the perimeter of the prison, just waiting for Will to make his move. Will had jumped the gun on his decision, and he couldn't believe that he would have acted upon his instincts so fast.

Will slowly made his way over toward his wife, cautiously approaching her from behind. When he was close enough, Will wrapped his arms around Elizabeth's waist almost tentatively, part of him anticipating some sort of resistance. But instead, Elizabeth turned herself around in his arms while putting hers around his neck and burying her face within his chest.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth," Will whispered. "I shouldn't have been so impatient. I just want to go home and live a normal life and not have to deal with pirates anymore."

"Me too," said Elizabeth, looking up deep into his eyes.

"I know that you have confidence in me. And of course I have confidence in you, as well. I always have; without you, I probably wouldn't be where I am today."

They stood in silence for a few more moments, just holding each other and enjoying the other's warm embrace.

"You're right," Will finally said. "We should wait until morning to go back. So, we need to get as much rest as possible, come on."

Will tenderly wrapped his fingers around Elizabeth's and guided her to their private quarters on the ship. Once they had arrived there, Will plopped himself down on the bed as Elizabeth got in beside him and snuggled up as close to her husband as possible. They didn't even bother changing out of their piratical attire, they were too exhausted for that. Will and Elizabeth just laid there until the curtain of slumber slowly and surely enveloped them.

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Admiral Nathaniel Wilkins awoke uneasily. There was a throbbing pain in his skull and a rough surface pushed up against his face. As he opened his eyes groggily, Wilkins spied his dark surroundings. He was currently in a cell along with a few of his men, who were still unconscious. The space located outside of the iron bars was dimly lit by torches lining the wall. Wilkins had no idea how he'd gotten here; the last thing he remembered was a freezing sensation...he wasn't entirely sure what it had been.

Wilkins curiously glanced over to his right to see an adjacent cell, which was also filled with a group of people. These were no doubt pirates, and at that time, the scruffiest of the bunch was facing Wilkins.

"I'd start to pray if I were you," he said.