A/N: I know that I promised to update daily, but things got in the way and I was unable to. Anyway, here are the next two chapters to make up for it. What I'm going to do now is wait until I've completed the few remaining chapters and then post them all at once. So, this story could be complete by the end of this week.
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Chapter 19
"What is it you have in mind, Sparrow?" came Blackbeard's rough growl.
Jack waited a few seconds before giving his reply. "We can come to a...mutual agreement. What say you to that?"
"It depends on what you're offering."
Behind Jack, Will and Elizabeth paced uncontrollably across the expanse of the room. Gibbs leaned worriedly against the treasure chest while Marty stood over the still bleeding guard, holding a small dagger.
"What exactly are you offering?" Will asked in an undertone.
Jack silently waved off the question. "What I'm offering," he shouted to Blackbeard, "is a deal in which both of us get what we want."
A short pause, then: "Go ahead."
"Alright. Here's my proposition. You let us walk out of here without any of your men in our way, give us back our ship, and we sail off safely into the horizon, leaving the treasure here with you and you can do whatever you want."
"Interesting..." Blackbeard commented. "But how are you so certain that I'll be willing to let you walk free?"
"Well, here's some incentive for you. If you go against the plan in any way, I'll have no hesitation whatsoever in sending your beloved treasure down to the depths. After that feel free to grow gills and search for it all you want."
Through the heavy barrier, everyone in the room was still able to hear Blackbeard's exasperated sigh.
"You only have one chance, Teachy. Take it or leave it," Jack chided.
"I want confirmation that the guard of mine that you have inside with you is still alive."
"Of course," Jack answered. He strutted over to the guard, picked him up, and dragged him over to the door. Jack nodded to Elizabeth, who caught on and unlocked the door. As the door swung open, Jack brought his pistol to rest against the guard's temple.
"Here he is. Still breathing...satisfied?"
"You broke his nose, I see." Blackbeard's men were all currently aiming pistols and rifles in Jack's direction.
"He left me no choice," Jack replied. He looked at the weapons currently pointing at him. "If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you could tell your men to lower their guns. I don't very much like being put on the spot like this."
Blackbeard nodded and raised his hand as a signal for his men to put their weapons at rest; they all did as they were told, but rather begrudgingly.
"Now," said Jack, "do we have a deal or don't we?"
Blackbeard smirked. "I'm afraid I need some time to mull things over. After all, I want to make the proper decision, don't I?"
"Yes, you do. How much time do you need?"
"That depends. I'm going to retire to my private office for the time being and leave a guard posted at the doorway to make sure that you don't attempt anything stupid."
"Oh, c'mon, Teach...Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?"
Blackbeard shot an icy glare in Jack's direction.
"Right," Jack said. "Well, take all the time you feel is necessary. I mean, it's not like we'll be going anywhere anytime soon, eh?"
With that, Jack retreated back into the small room, the guard still in tow.
"Don't trust him, Cap'n," the guard pleaded.
"Silence," spat Blackbeard as the door shut once again.
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Back in his private office, Blackbeard sat in thoughtful silence, contemplating his options in the current situation. He sighed deeply and finally swung his legs off of his desk and rose to his feet, making his way towards a guard standing at attention.
"The secret room that Sparrow and his fellow pirates are in happens to be located on ground level. I want you to sneak outside and stand by the window that looks into it; I want to know what Sparrow is doing at all times."
"Yes sir," the guard grunted before rushing out of the dank office.
"Are you really intending to go through with this, Cap'n?" Blackbeard's first mate asked from a dark corner.
"I must admit that I'm not entirely sure at the moment, but I assure you that if Sparrow attempts anything foolish, then I won't hesitate in taking the right course of action."
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Meanwhile, Jack and the rest of the crew that were currently in the room that housed the Bermudan Treasure were starting to get anxious.
"To tell you the truth, Jack," Will spoke up, "I don't really trust Blackbeard to fully carry out his side of the bargain."
"Neither do I, mate. But if anything should happen, rest assured, we'll find a way out of this."
"Once we get out of the Bermuda Triangle, don't expect us to join you on anymore of your quests after this," said Elizabeth.
"Sure. You say that now," Jack grinned.
"We're serious, Jack," intoned Will. "Elizabeth and I are ready to start a family, thus leaving our lives of piracy behind us."
"I respect your words at the moment, but I'm afraid that there'll always be circumstances outside your control that will prompt you to come back to me."
"We'll see about that."
Jack smirked and made his way over to Marty, who was still standing guard over the captive henchman. Jack knelt down beside him.
"How's our big ol' lummox holding up?"
"He seems to be cooperating just fine," the small man commented.
Just then, the guard leapt forward, tackling Marty to the ground. During the confusion of movement, Jack lunged forward and grabbed the pirate around his collar, pulling him back. Once Jack had brought his captive back, he placed his sword at the brute's throat.
It wasn't until Jack heard Elizabeth's gasp of horror that he realized what had happened. He looked at Marty, who was still laying on the ground, only now he had a deep red gash in the center of his chest. Gibbs immediately rushed to Marty's aid, tearing the front of the dwarf's shirt wide open.
The wound that the pirate had made with Marty's own dagger was deep, and Marty was quickly losing blood. Gibbs ripped a portion of his own shirt and placed it against the gash in a pitiful attempt to stop the bleeding, but it wasn't working. Marty was gasping for air desperately, but with each passing second, he seemed to slip farther and farther away from life.
Will and Elizabeth stood rooted to the ground, shell-shocked at what had just transpired. Nobody in the room said a word as Marty took his last few breaths of life before silently dying on the cold stone floor. The next few seconds were accompanied with an eerie silence that seemed to tear at everyone's heart.
It was finally broken by Elizabeth's sobs as she stood there, unable to control herself. Will did not hesitate in taking her gracefully into his arms as she cried over the loss of a close friend.
Meanwhile, Jack angrily squeezed the guard's throat in attempt to kill him. But before he could, Gibbs came up and rested a firm hand on Jack's shoulder.
"Don't do it, Jack," he said solemnly. "He's not worth it."
Jack reluctantly, and slowly, released his grip. But without warning, he landed another hard punch to the pirate's already bloody face.
Across the room, Will continued to console his wife. He tenderly cupped her face within his caring hands and gazed deep into her eyes.
"Elizabeth, sweetheart, I know that this has got to be a little rough on you, but please, don't lose control over yourself. You couldn't have stopped it."
"I know," she managed between smaller sobs. "But even though I feel bad about this, I also can't help but feel deeply angered at Blackbeard. I just...want to cause him as much pain as he's caused us." Elizabeth gently touched Will's chest.
"You listen to me, we're going to get out of here safely. I promise you that."
Elizabeth then leaned forward and kissed Will passionately a few times before hugging him tightly.
Jack walked up to them. "I think we need to find an alternative plan." He started to glance around the room; his eyes finally came to rest on the small window carved into the far wall. "That window is our best bet. We'll take the treasure with us, re-bury it somewhere, and then storm this godforsaken place and get our crewmates so we can sail out of this hell."
"Okay," said Will.
Jack, Will, and Gibbs converged on the treasure chest, picked it up, and slowly made their way over to the window with Elizabeth close behind. Once they had reached the window, the three men gently put the chest down and Jack used the hilt of his sword to shatter the glass. Job done, Jack, Will, and Gibbs regained their firm hold on the heavy object and raised to the window's level; Elizabeth even contributed to the effort as best she could. Then, the good pirates managed to shove the chest out the window, the sound of a dull thud as it hit the grassy ground followed only seconds later.
After that, the four comrades climbed out of the window, one right after the other. When they arrived outside, however, a grim surprise awaited them.
Once each of the Pearl members had set foot on the earthy surface, they turned around and came face-to-face with the tips of many swords that glinted dauntingly in the bright sunlight. Soon, an all too familiar voice reached their ears.
"I suspected as much. I just knew that you would go sour on your offer, Sparrow." Blackbeard grinned mercilessly with his own sword raised in front of him.
"Blame your guard," spat Jack. "He killed one of my men, which caused us to resort to this new plan."
"Well, it seems that it was a feeble one. You seem to cause too much trouble on this island, so I believe that I shall move up your execution to right now. And I think your little friends here have earned the right to die by means of decapitation as well."
He nodded to three of his men, who immediately stepped forward and bound each person's hands behind their back after promptly removing any weapon that was visible.
"It's time to make a little trip to the execution cave. Let's take a walk, shall we?"
Blackbeard then turned on his heel and began to head toward a nearby cave. Every one of his crew followed, with a few shoving Jack and his friends forward while another select few grabbed the treasure chest and dragged it along with them.
But despite the situation, Will managed to suppress a small grin as he inconspicuously fingered a small dagger, which rested secretly in the very back of his belt.