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Chapter Sixteen: Timing is Everything

It was almost too easy. The timing, the ships, the crew, and Bill knew everything that was going to happen just as it did. He watched as his ship descended upon Gideon's own, with the Pines family creating the perfect distraction. He had no problems sending most of his crew to battle, even if he knew he would lose the majority of them. They were just a distraction so he could get away.

"Tad, don't go with them." Bill ordered, snagging the back of Tad's jacket when he saw the man inching forward. This was a risky plan, but one that would have the best payout if the gamble worked for them.

Tad didn't say anything, but did look back, a sword strapped to his waist and wondering just what Bill could want. Bill stuck his hand in his pocket, feeling the small collection of items that he had placed there hours ago in preparation. So much could go wrong, but so far it was going just as planned.

"Gleeful isn't on that ship." Bill said the moment he heard battle sound, going over to the rowboat. Tad helped him lower it into the water, hopping in before Bill could so he could man the oars and get them to the island.

"How do you know that?" Tad wasn't really in the mood for questioning, otherwise they wouldn't have even left the ship. As far as everyone but Bill was concerned, this was a rescue mission.

"Gideon wouldn't drag her into the tropics and down to this specific island just to keep her on the boat." Bill grabbed the oars from Tad, gritting his teeth and making choppy motions as he rowed. He was going to be sore, but they only had a small amount of time for this.

As they got close to the shore, Tad jumped out into the water even though it was waist deep, dragging the boat as close as he could before Bill got out and helped him drag it on shore. If Tad hadn't told him that he just thought of Mabel as a sister, Bill would have been concerned over how desperate he seemed. It just made Bill wonder if he seemed that desperate at the same time.

The sand crunched underneath their boat, and Bill had sudden vivid memories of bringing Mabel to an island encrusted with ice. She had been declared an honorary mermaid that day, and now the memory of her smile seemed so faded and old. He was not going to let her get away from him once more.

The island was quiet, and strangely deserted. It didn't seem as though life had ever breathed in this island, but really it wasn't. The plant life even seemed artificial, yet at the same time it seemed as though the whole place was something completely different. It was unlike anything that Tad and Bill had ever seen before.

Together they wandered silently, with Bill staring hard at the ground and looking for the slightest change in sand and dirt, while Tad stared ahead to guard what they were doing. Bill kicked at every single rock that they walked, looking for a change that was sure to come.

It happened when he kicked a rather large rock, only for it to go flying as it seemed to be hollowed out. Tad started at it fly off, not even noticing how Bill was now on his knees, brushing away sand and dirt with his bare hands as he sought after the wooden boards. The only thing more difficult for him to read in the book than the ruins was Gideon's actual handwriting.

With a large creak, Bill pulled at hidden, rotting boards of wood that just seemed to fall apart in his hands. Tad was there as soon as he realized just what Bill was doing, helping him pull up boards and reveal a small, rather hidden cave that didn't look natural. It was just wide enough for Bill to slip through, hands scraping themselves on the stones.

As he dropped down into the wet cave that seemed like it had been built a thousand years before. Tad was at least smart, getting light from a source that Bill didn't even bother to look back and see from as they started to walk. The two men had to walk a bit stooped, their knees aching as they quickly made their way through a winding cave that almost seemed to have no end.

"...everything's almost in place." The voices were warped, but it made Bill and Tad pause, walking almost silently through the last bit of the cave to the source of the voice.

The exit to the cave opened up, revealing an underground room that was just barely high enough for them to stand in. Stalagmites were forming on the ground from the constant dripping seawater, and now being almost in the room, it was easy to see the way that they were under the sea. Tad was pressing against Bill's back, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. Bill refused to move though, keeping the sight to himself for just a moment longer.

They had lit torches to give them light, with a couple of Gideon's men surrounding a large rock standing on it's side. The rock had a hole in the middle, and dripping right through the middle in a steady stream was clear water, pooling for a moment before it would pour down into the water pooling on the ground.

Mabel, at first glance, almost seemed to be asleep in Gideon's arms, until Bill looked closer and saw the blood dripping from her cheek, and the way her hands weren't resting in front of her, but actually bound behind her. Bill almost growled as he watched Gideon look down at her with a look of possessiveness, going to place her down on the ground before the pouring water from the rock.

"Ghost Eyes, ya got everythin'?" Gideon asked, trying to keep his composure, but it was easy for everyone to see just how excited he was now.

Ghost Eyes moved, pulling out items from his pocket and handing them to Gideon, the same items that were now sitting in Bill's pockets, minus the golden chalice that Gideon seemed to think was necessary. He filled the chalice with water from the stream, leaning over Mabel's body and almost not noticing the way she was starting to stir.

"Don't…" Mabel whispered, watching as Gideon dropped in a small, iridescent item into the cup, a small jewel, then a butterfly. If she had any sense of what was going on, she would have gasped for the poor butterfly as Gideon pulled it's wings off, dropping them into the water and then dropping the body of the poor butterfly into the water next to Mabel.

"Hush, sugar plum. I'll go first, and then you." Gideon knelt down next to her, and now Tad had to hold Bill back from suddenly rushing in to try to save the day. "It'll be done before ya know it."

From where he was, Bill could just barely see the glint of a knife as Gideon pulled it out from his belt. Tad now had to really hold Bill back, even though he had no idea what Gideon was really doing, but he knew Bill could do more damage than good right now.

"It won't work." Mabel whimpered, trying to sit up but feeling Gideon press against her shoulder and at this point Bill would have shouted if he was allowed to do as he wanted.

Gideon lifted the blade, pricking the edge of it with his finger just to see how sharp it was. He took Mabel's hand, watching the salt water drip down her arm for a moment before he moved, simply dragging the moment out for enjoyment.

Yet right then, there was a crash, the whole cave and area shaking as rocks fell from the ceiling. Gideon slipped from his position, going from kneeling next to Mabel to sitting flat on his butt as the young woman next to him gasped in surprise in pain as the knife found a very different location, instead of sliding into the flesh of her arm, it slid right into her stomach, a short but deadly blow.

"Mabel!" Gideon gasped, ignoring his wet behind, kneeling beside her. Even though the knife had slipped from his grasp, he had kept a good grip on the chalice so that he wouldn't spill the contents.

"Don't you worry, sugar plum, this will be fixed in just a moment," Gideon's breathing was rapid, but not nearly as rapid as Mabel's own, her hands shaking as they touched the blade still sticking out of her stomach.

Dipping his fat fingers into the blood on her chest, Gideon ignored her gasp of pain and held his fingers over the chalice. As Mabel's blood, only a single drop, fell into the water, it seemed to shimmer for a moment, but then it went back to normal. Gideon brought the water to his lips, taking a long gulp of it and shuddering, before he pressed it against Mabel's lips. With no other choice, she took a gulp of the concoction, gasping for air the moment that she had a chance to.

Yet the wound didn't get better. Gideon felt no different. Mabel was still gasping as she bled, with a knife sticking out of her stomach and her face paling. Tad couldn't hold Bill back anymore, but by the sounds of what had happened, he wasn't sure he wanted to hold Bill back.

"It's supposed to work!" Gideon screeched, pulling the blade out of Mabel's stomach just as Bill came into full view, but Gideon didn't notice that. Gideon pressed his hands against Mabel's stomach, trying to stop the bleeding but didn't do well.

Without a word, not concerned with making a grand entrance or frivolous lines, Bill stormed through the water with a flourish of his sword, slicing through the air and sinking his blade into Gideon's chest. Gideon gasped for air for a moment, hands going slack on Mabel's wound before he collapsed in the water. His crew stared at the dead body, but were unwilling to move forward when Bill fell to his knees at Mabel's side, taking it upon himself to put pressure on the wound so he could buy just a couple more seconds.

"Bill." Mabel breathed out in a sigh, her own bloody hands going to hover over his own. He focused on her wound, putting as much pressure on it as he could despite how she whined with pain.

"I'm here, I told you I wouldn't let you get away from me." Bill tried to joke, but he was concentrating too much on trying to fix her that it sounded completely serious.

"He go-got it wrong," Mabel coughed slightly as her eyes started to get hazy. People were rushing around them so quickly, it all seemed like a blur to her. She could have sworn that she had seen Tad behind Bill, but it was so hard to tell.

"Don't talk, okay? Just relax, I'm right here." Bill said, seeing her skin get paler. "You're going to be okay, I won't let anything happen to you."

Mabel shakily nodded her head, letting her eyes slip closed for just a moment. Bill snapped at her to keep her eyes open, and Mabel was struggling to do just that. Everything around her really was a blur, with things getting more and more faded by the moment.

"Mabel, stay awake." Bill ordered when her eyes fluttered shut for a moment. He got no response from her. "Mabel!"

For a second, her eyes seemed to flutter like they were trying to open, before they just gave up, and Bill could feel her pulse start to slow down. He was completely at a loss. If Tad had just let him go a moment earlier. If he had just rushed into the room, if he had never let her go with them, none of this would be happening.

There were so many what if's that were staring down at him. If he had just changed one thing, she would still be okay.

"Mabel!" This time it wasn't Bill's voice who broke the silence, but Stanford's as the man came limping through the water. He looked as though he had been through a war as he slipped over rocks and nearly came crashing down on them. He would have, if it hadn't been for Tad grabbing his jacket at the last second.

"What did you do?" Ford snapped, trying to brush Bill away from Mabel's shallow breathing to look her over, but Bill refused to move. Bill was the only thing keeping Mabel from completely bleeding out.

"It was Gideon, you pompous ass, and unless you plan to help, back off." Bill growled. Mabel probably wouldn't have liked to hear him talk to her uncle like that, but she wasn't in any frame of mind to think of that right now.

Ford looked around helplessly for a moment, scraped hands searching through the water as though he would actually find something there that would help him. The only thing he did find was Gideon's fallen cup, which now looked dull and grey compared to the golden sheen it had held before.

"He tried to perform the spell, didn't he?" Ford asked, words almost pouring out too quickly for Bill to make out the words. Bill nodded after a moment, not even sure where this was going. Ford looked over Mabel's face, tilting her head back to hear her breathing and see if she was still around.

"It's a mistranslation, the spell only works with those with pure intentions, not pure of heart. It never would have worked. Don't you get it? She can still live!" Ford was almost beaming, but then looked to the side, at the rock that had once poured the clear crystal water that had the chance to give life. During the commotion, it had fallen over, and whatever chance there was seemed hopeless.

Tad snatched the cup from Ford's hands, skipping over the rock and then moving over and trying his best to salvage something. Bill carefully removed one hand from Mabel's stomach, feeling her pulse grow even weaker. He had never seen someone so pale before.

"Tad! Need that now!" Bill never did have anything precious to him in life to add with the mermaid scale and pure water, but he did have the other things Mabel had left behind in her stay. He had stolen just one of those for this, but it wasn't even going to what he had taken it for.

Tad, somehow, came scrambling back, nearly dropping the barely filled cup. Bill simply dropped the butterfly in-even if it had been long dead-along with the scale and what he cherished most. Mabel coughed underneath him for a moment as she stirred, her cough bringing blood to her lips.

Without a word, and no time to get to his knife, Bill simply sank his teeth into his wrist, tearing at flesh hard enough to make blood drip down into the cup Tad was still holding. Bill didn't even have time to think, he just had to act, a small part of him wondering if this would even work. He wanted Mabel to live, he wanted her to live more than any part of him ever wanted to be immortal, and he just wanted her to be okay. If wanting someone else to live was selfish, Bill didn't know what he would do.

For a moment, Mabel sucked in a harsh breath of air that even made Bill wince, and Bill took the cup from Tad to press it against her lips. She shuddered for a moment, her eyes blinking open for a moment as Bill poured the liquid in her mouth, and out of reflex she swallowed with the last strength she had.

Nothing happened.

Her pulse slowed down slightly, eyes fluttering shut once more, and Bill didn't care if she never wanted to see him again as long as she actually woke up and said she was okay. He didn't care if she hated him for killing Gideon, as long as she was still alive and breathing and he didn't have to live with the guilt of being just a second too late.

He couldn't watch her anymore, leaning his head down and removing his hand back from her wound. Even putting pressure on it anymore wouldn't save her, and everyone, even Gideon's crew was completely silent as they all had to watch the scene descending before them. Bill squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think clearly and really unable to do more than hope, and yet at the same time feel that hope drain right out of his chest the longer the silence stretched on for.

Bill didn't move until he felt fingers brush against his face, even if they were slightly chilled from the water. He brought his hand up to grasp the one against his face, pressing it against his cheek.

"My big bad pirate didn't really think he could get rid of me that easily, did he?"