DISCLAIMER: I don't own Soul Eater.

"Aughhh," Maka rolled over and her stomach turned unpleasantly. Her head was throbbing dully, and she felt like she hadn't eaten in weeks. She forced her eyes open to an unfamiliar room. The inn, she remembered. There was no window in her room, so she had no idea what time it was. She felt like she had barely slept at all.

No sooner was she attempting to sit up than a soft knock came at her door. She made a weak attempt to comb through her hair-she was sure it was a mess- and said in gruff voice, "Come in."

It was Soul. He sauntered over to her bed with an odd smirk on his face and sat on the edge of it.

"Augh," she repeated for his sake.

He laughed. "You have no alcohol tolerance, and you drank way too much last night." Maka grimaced. She felt a little tired, sure. But what greater harm could come of a night of fun? Wasn't this what pirates did?

"I didn't even get sick! I don't feel too bad, actually," Maka stated indignantly.

"Actually you, er, took care of the sick part last night," Soul responded.

Maka blushed lightly. No wonder her stomach felt so empty. "Oh." was all she could say. She didn't remember that at all.

In fact, once she thought about it, she didn't remember a lot of what happened last night. She was playing poker with Patty, and then…she was dancing? She groaned at that and put her head in her hands. How embarrassing. Something else played at the edge of her memory. Kid had said something extremely upsetting. What was it...? Maybe drinking so much wasn't a good idea, after all. She'd have to try to remember it all later. But first-

"You need food." Soul confirmed. "Get ready and meet me downstairs." Then he was gone.

For some reason, Maka felt uneasy. Not just because her stomach was empty- something last night went wrong. How infuriating to not be able to remember it! I am never drinking again, Maka swore to herself. She stumbled out of the bed and found her extra clothes in her sack on a chair at the foot of the bed. She quickly changed into a new shirt and pants before gathering her belongings and making her way downstairs.

The port of Tortuga was even more insane in daylight. It turned out that Maka had slept into the early afternoon, so mostly everyone was already out doing their errands for the day. As Soul led Maka through the crowded cobble streets, she saw men and women and children of all ages. There were merchants selling wares, though in much more makeshift stalls than her own hometown. There were people eating, people yelling, men and women canoodling, children running through the crowds..Soul had let Maka buy whatever she liked from merchants, so her stomach was full of bread and fruits. She felt much better, and the energy of the people around her livened her up.

"So, Soul, where is everyone else?" Maka wondered aloud.

"Gathering information, mostly. See, this port sees a lot of travelers, and thus is privy to valuable information. Maps, rumors of new islands to explore..That sort of thing." He shrugged. Maka pictured Patty getting information out of a giant man and had to suppress a laugh. After what she had seen last night, she knew the little devil was more than capable.

"So," she continued, "Are you guys looking for anything in particular?"

At this, Soul's smile wavered. After a pause, he said lightly, "Ah, now love, can't be giving you all my secrets just yet. You'll find out soon enough."

For some reason, that made Maka's stomach turn. She decided to change the subject. She pointed out another stall that looked interesting, and they continued on like that for the rest of the day. It was almost easy to forget that Soul was hiding things from her.

By the time Maka and Soul had traversed the main town, the sun was beginning to set.

Suddenly, Soul perked up. "Come on, I have one last place to show you."

He grabbed her hand, effectively making her blush, and pulled her down an unpaved path until they were in a part of town that looked largely abandoned. At the end of the path was a tall wooden building that had fallen to disrepair. Maka's heart started to race, for excitement or fear she did not know.

Soul caught the worried look on her face and smirked. "Trust me," he said in a low voice.

That did nothing to help Maka's nervousness. They went into the building and it looked the same on the inside as out- empty and old. The only light came from cracks in the old wood, so it was hard to see. Maka could only make out Soul's white head of hair in front of her as he pulled her to the back of the room.

"Now we climb," he said simply, and soon after Maka's feet collided with something solid. She lifted one foot and found the first stair, which creaked beneath her. Soul was climbing fast, so Maka sped up and followed him. The stairs seemed to curve in circles, though it was hard to tell in the dim lighting. Finally, it started to brighten, and then Maka could see the sky. The stairs had taken them all the way to the roof, she realized.

She stepped out behind Soul, who was standing at the edge of the roof with his back to her. As she stepped closer to him, she saw why. From up here, they had a clear view of the ocean and the sun setting behind it. It was beautiful.

"Wow," she breathed. The sky was a hundred shades of pink, orange and crimson. She had seen the sun set every night back in her castle in Mideel, but this was different. She could feel the salty air blowing gently around her. Soul reached out and took Maka's hand again. She turned to look at him.

He was staring at her intensely. "I want to tell you something. I hope you don't get mad."

Maka furrowed her brows. "Okay..."

"I didn't just take you aboard my ship because I like you."

Maka frowned. This sounded oddly familiar.

"I've been looking for something for a very long time. It supposedly lays in the castle of Mideel."

Maka narrowed her eyes.

He continued. "It's a map..."

And suddenly it came back to Maka- the thing Kid had said last night; the thing that had her uneasy all day.

She remembered his slurred words...

"He's been lookin' for that map fer a longgg time. 'Ts why he picked ya up in the first place, 'n had you steal yer daddy's stuff."

Maka yanked her hand out of Soul's and took a step back. Unshed tears stung her eyes, but she was determined not to cry. Instead, she whipped the necklace out from under her blouse. "It's this, right? This is the only reason you wanted me."

Soul's eyes widened at the sight of the necklace and Maka's heart sank. There was no use denying it now; this was clearly the treasure Soul truly wanted. "You've had that this whole time?" He breathed.

Maka ignored his question. "So that's it! You've been using me this whole time! Oh, how disappointed you must have been when this wasn't in the bag of things I STOLE from my FATHER for you!"

Soul put his hands out in front of him in apology. "Wait wait wait. You've got it all wrong! This is why I didn't tell you-"

"Oh, so this necklace isn't the thing you've been looking for?" Maka quipped angrily.

"I mean..." Soul faltered, still staring at the necklace. "Yes, maybe that was the initial reason I helped you escape the castle but-"

"But nothing!" Maka was yelling now, and tears piled up in her eyes, threatening to betray her. "I thought you respected me. I thought maybe I was meant for this life. But you were just using me!" As she screamed another part of Kid's explanation came back to her.

"Yer our sacrifice!" He had said.

"And Kid said something about me being a sacrifice?! What the hell does that even mean!"

Now Soul looked angry. "Kid." was all he said.

Maka opened her mouth to say more, but she was silenced by a pounding below her. Someone was coming up the stairs. No, several someones.

Soul groaned and reached to pull out his sword. "Not this, not now..." Maka reached to pull her sword out too, before realizing she had left it in its sheath...in her bedroom at the inn. Immediately forgetting her anger at him moments before, Maka turned to Soul with wide, terrified eyes.

Soul sighed and handed her his sword. "We'll share," he said.

The frantic steps were getting closer now.

"Do you know who's coming?" she whispered.

"It's him," Soul answered cryptically. Maka waited for an explanation.

He continued, "Maka, have you ever heard of Davy Jones?"

Maka thought she felt her blood run cold at his words. Of all the pirates she had read up on, he was the most fascinating. He, his crew, and his ship- the Flying Dutchman- were the most feared on the sea. They were responsible for the most savage of plundering.

There was one book that said Davy Jones was given the job of "God of the sea". His duty was to carry dead souls to the other side, giving up the job only one day every 10 years to set foot on land. But he fell in love with the goddess who gave him the power, and she rejected him. Now, he refused to do anything for the good of the world. Anyone who dared defy him was stabbed once by his cold, cruel eyes and again by his sword. And if they stepped on his ship, they'd be part of his crew for 100 years.

It was a terrifying story, to say the least. And Maka thought Davy Jones was just a scary story. Apparently not.

"Well, you're about to fight his crew," Soul finished.

"…Oh god."

"Don't worry, it sounds like there's only a few of them. You take one down, I'll get a weapon off of another."
Maka's stomach flipped again, and not from the hangover this time. "Soul, I can't do this! I'm not ready!"
"Of course you are, I trained you myself." Maka gave him an exasperated look.

"…Okay, so it was only for two days. But you're better than you give yourself credit for. Just trust me,"

Then the men appeared at the roof.

Maka almost screamed just looking at them. There were three of them, all slimy and fish-like, as if they had spent so much time in the sea they had transformed. She dimly remembered reading about this in a book, but she hadn't thought it could be true. In a few seconds, though, she recovered and stuck her sword at the man closest to her. He was sprouting tentacles from his arms and face, like a squid of sorts, and when he talked he spat uncontrollably.

"Ello poppet, a pretty little thing you are. Juuust like yer mother."

Maka's mouth dropped open, "How do you know who my mother is!"

Come to think of it, Maka hadn't had time to ask why Davy Jones' crew members were attacking them.
The squid man laughed, "I'm on the ship of Davy Jones. We know every man and woman that sailed the seas."

Maka had no answer for that, so she started fighting him again. Every time she attacked, he blocked in the blink of an eye and returned a blow in a second. Just what she'd expect from the crew of Davy Jones. Soul, I can't believe you think I can beat these guys! Thinking of Soul, she turned around quickly to see him fighting off an armed fish man with his bare hands. She could have stood and watched in amazement but that would have been the death of her, so she turned back and continued her fight with a new energy.If he can do that, I have to be able to take one with a sword, at least.

After a few minutes of fighting off the fish men that came at her, she heard a sword drop and looked to see Soul scoop it up. Somehow, he had gotten it away from his enemy. Now they were both fighting fair, constantly turning in circles to avoid attacks from behind. Two on three was a tough situation to face, and Maka knew she'd have to be clever to win this one.

Maka thought about how Soul had managed to disarm his opponent. She began to stab at a fish's sword instead of his body, and he was clearly not expecting it. The sword dropped, and Maka kicked it off the roof. Without a weapon, the squid man was helpless and it would be all too easy to stab him. But Maka hesitated. She had never actually killed anyone before.

As she faltered, the squid slashed her with one of his tentacles, hard enough to knock her over. As Maka struggled to stand, the squid reared back with another tentacle. It looked like he was going to pierce her.

She had to distract him somehow. Without thinking, she pulled her necklace free and shoved it toward him.

"This is what you want, right? Here! Just take it! Leave us alone!" The squid man paused, his eyes growing wide at the sight of the necklace. It had been a guess, but apparently Maka was right. When he hesitated, Maka thrust her sword forward and pierced straight through his heart. The squid slumped to the floor.

"Yes!" Maka shouted in victory.

"No!" Soul roared from aross the roof. The fish man he was fighting darted down the stairs, seeming to retreat.

"Why did he run, all of a sudden?" she wondered.

"You idiot!" Soul growled. "You showed them your necklace! Now there's no question, they'll come after you! The daughter of Kami Albarn and the holder of the key. Good god, what'll we do now…"

"Oh." Maka didn't really understand how her mother had anything to do with this but obviously the necklace was important. Everyone on the sea seemed to want it. Just what burden did Marie leave her with...?

"Come on," Soul pulled her away from her thoughts. "We have to get the others and hide. Farther inland, preferably. Where those cretins can't find us."

"Where are the others, exactly?"

"With any luck, they're somewhere safe, not being slaughtered by the rest of Jones' crew."

The fight had taken longer than Maka would have thought- the sun was long down and the moon replaced it. Soul and Maka ran through the town like death was at their heels, passing the occasional drunkard or shifty looking man in an alley. This area was practically empty, and Maka didn't know whether that was a good or a bad thing. Suddenly, two figures started running towards them. It was Liz and Kid. When they got closer, Maka could see that both had their swords out, and their clothes looked rumpled and slimy, like they had been fighting fish-men too.

"Run!" was all Soul had to say. The four continued down more streets, up into the hills, away from the water...

Out of nowhere, more fish men came through an alley and stopped them.

"Find a way around them!" Liz shouted. "We'll take care of as many as we can!"

"Thanks!" Soul answered before grabbing Maka by the hand and finding a narrow, barely noticeable alleyway to run through.

Behind them, Maka could hear Kid and Liz yelling as they fought off Davy Jones' henchmen.

I'm causing them so much trouble. But it's not like I knew what I was getting into when I put this stupid necklace on!

They ran through the thin alley and into another, and then another.

"Aghhhh!" Maka yelled out in frustration. "Where do we go!"

"I don't know!" Soul shouted back.

Finally, their luck ran out and they ran into a dead end.
"…Fuck." Soul hissed.

Just like before, out of nowhere appeared a fish man in front of the two. He resembled an eel, with slits for eyes, a yellowish skin tint and a skinny figure, with fins on his forearms.

Soul stepped in front of Maka and put his arms out as protection.

"Sebastian," he greeted with a frown.

"Who?" Maka whispered.

"He's the first mate of Davy Jones himself."

"Now Soul, don't be blocking me from the lady. Ya know your deal with Jones. He'll be reasonable with ya if ya hand her over without a fuss."

"Tah," Soul spat. "Like hell he will."
"Soul, you and the cap'n made a deal five years ago yesterday. Ya can't back out from this now. It'll be yer head if ya try."

Soul shook his head curtly, clearly not willing to compromise.

With an evil laugh, the man named Sebastian strode toward Maka and Soul. Maka noticed how her captain tensed, but didn't move. Soul tried to strike Sebastian with his sword, but the eel quickly grabbed the weapon with one long arm. With his other, he slapped Soul on the chest, and Maka heard a buzzing noise, like Soul was being zapped. Soul yelped and fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Soul!" Maka screamed.

"Don' worry about him," Sebastian smiled evilly. "He'll be fine. An' so will you, if ya come quietly." Maka took out her sword before running out of the alley, only to find the exit blocked by two more fish men. She didn't stand a chance. But she would go down fighting. She slashed across the two in front of her, before she felt a slimy pair of arms wrap around her waist. She screamed and elbowed Sebastian in the stomach. He didn't let go of her. The two fish men grabbed her legs and the three crew members proceeded to drag Maka from the alley.

"Soul!" she screamed again.

Good god, the crew is all stuck fighting Davy Jones' fish men, Soul is unconscious and I've been captured. What is with this damn necklace?