AN: Finally, I have written the chapter I was waiting the write during the entire story! Yes! This is my favorite chapter! However, only I know the reasons, for I am the only one who knows what's going on in all the characters' heads! Ha ha ha...

But don't fret, everything will be understood later. In the mean time, an interesting little side note: this was probably the most exhausting chapter to write. I never thought any writing could be emotionally exhausting (except for maybe writing timed essays in AP English), but this chapter was. Go figure.

Oh, and just as a friendly reminder...I love reviews! Thank you so much to the three that did review! But I'd love more! Not to be pushy or anything...;)

Anyway, enough of my rambling, which I am finding I am doing more frequently. I assume you will be wanting to read this amazing chapter.

Enjoy.

The map gaped up at me from my hands, as if to mock my situation as I trudged onwards. One more trap till the Fountain of Youth.

One trap lay between us and our death.

I clenched the map tighter and gritted my teeth, yet despite it, all of me was shaking slightly. One more trap. I had to make sense of the warning. And then I had to come up with a plan to make it out alive.

What if the Fountain did produce eternal life? Belmont was sure to be the first to drink. That left everyone else vulnerable and…dead. The soldiers had obeyed him thus far, and if he was immortal and much more dangerous, they were sure to obey. We were trapped. We were trapped…we were trapped…

I stopped myself from yelling out in frustration and despair, resulting in a strangled gasp that left my mouth instead. Ella, who was still beside me, squeezed my arm.

No. we couldn't be trapped. There had to be a way. Some way…

My hands became sweaty with the thought that all could be lost, and my head started spinning. This wasn't were I had envisioned my end to be. I was going to grow old…die in my sleep…or something peaceful like that. Not here. Not murdered. And I would never let my friends die on my account. I was going to find a way. Somehow.

It was a burden to put one foot in front of the other. I kept telling myself these things, but nothing was presenting itself. I couldn't think, hardly could breathe. I had always thought myself rational and practical. And I had been, had I not? Then why could I not think straight? Why could I not find a way out of this trap, the one with no instructions or riddles? The one that presented no escape?

"Just focus on this," murmured Ella, pointing at the map. I wiped my eyes; I hadn't realized I was crying up until this point. Looking down, I read the instructions again. All it said was walk to The Door. The Door. What in the world was that suppose to mean?

I sighed and kept walking. Behind me trailed Ella and Richard, though Richard was guarded by two soldiers. Beyond them was Belmont with Jack, and as I glanced over my shoulder, I could still see the anger blazing stronger than ever. But mixed with that seemed to be…I couldn't pin down the emotion, but as we once again locked eyes, I had to look away. The fierceness was frightening, horrible, and wretched. If Ella hadn't given me another squeeze of assurance…

I let out a haggard breath. I had to find a way to live. I had to. I had to…there wasn't even another option for me…but…

My head banged against something wooden, and I stumbled to the side.

It was a door.

I looked down at the map. The door looked like The Door in the sketch.

"And the riddle?" asked Belmont, shoving his way forward, pushing Jack out in front of him. Jack's toe tripped over a rock, and he fell forward by my feet; I tried to help him up, but Belmont grabbed the collar of my shirt and pinned me against The Door. "Don't waste time," he snarled. "Figure out the riddle."

"Put her down!" shrieked Ella, hurtling herself at the Commodore with fury. He raised his hand and as she charged, backhanded her, sending her staggering backwards into Elizabeth's arms.

"Don't hurt her!" I screamed, throwing my own fist at him. I hit him squarely on the nose, heard a crack, and grimmaced as blood began to gush from his nose.

Belmont grabbed my throat and lifted me up until I was well above his head, and as he choked me, he pushed me harder and harder into the door until it felt like my body was going to snap in two. "THE RIDDLE!" he roared.

His hand was removed and I collapsed to the ground, the air thick with shocked silence. Everyone was still, like a statue, except for the eyes, that darted amongst themselves in a frenzied motion. Even the soldiers looked frightened, and many gripped their guns tighter.

"All it says is walk to the door," I groaned. "There isn't a riddle."

"Then it's the Fountain!" he said gleefully, grabbing my arm and hoisting me up. "Finally, after all these years--"

"Wait," interrupted Barbossa. "What is that on the door?"

I turned and saw a small plaque with words on it.

"Permissum qui intrunt non exsisto tempero per Diabolus. Servo tantum vestri auri , pro per oculi quod per os mos vos intereo," I read out loud. "Um…roughly speaking…I'd say it said: Let those who enter not be tempted by Satan. Keep only your ears, for by eyes and by mouth will you die. It doesn't sound too much like a riddle. More like a…warning."

"And what is it warning against?" growled Belmont, who once again had Jack under his pistol.

I swallowed and worded my answer carefully. "I don't know. But if we walk through the door, maybe we'll have a better idea."

Belmont's eyes glowered, but with a snort, he pushed Jack forward. "Jack goes in first. If something happens to him--"

"I'm going with him," I said.

Belmont tried to grab my arm, but I maneuvered away. "I'm going with him."

"Give me the map."

I handed the item over and stepped away; turning to the door, I rattled the handle, and it opened easily. Taking a deep breath, I looked up at Jack, but he hardly acknowledged my existence. Just staring blankly at The Door.

I wanted to scream at him, pound his chest, punch him in the face. Anything to make him look at me! Anything to make him at least talk! At least explain why he was ignoring me, why he couldn't forgive me, why he couldn't trust me, why he couldn't at least understand what I was going through…

But all I did was open The Door slowly, letting dank air wash over me, clearing my head from my internal strife of a relationship failed.

The room was dark, and I held my torch in front of me. There was nothing spectacular to see; just a lot of space. A lot of space. It must have been the size of a music hall. And it was empty. Empty space. Nothing adorned the walls or floor, and at the other side was a large plain door, much like the one we were coming through.

Yet…

Something wasn't right. I could feel it. My gut was saying things weren't what they seemed, and as I walked farther in, fighting the urge to grab Jack's arm and curl up in it, I became more worried. The feeling was familiar…and closing my eyes, I realized with a shock that it was the same feeling I had felt before coming to the England and the Caribbean. Right before the men as came and attacked Ella and I, there had been a strange feeling, that something bad was going to happen. Right before I had been…I frowned as my memory flooded back. After that feeling…I had been…we had been…walking to a movie…and before that…there had been something about college. Something about wanting to go to England. College and England? Was that what we were talking about?

Something was missing…I couldn't remember something…

The door banged shut, and looking behind me, I saw that those of us still left, probably around two seventy (and many of those were soldiers), were now in the room as well.

Suddenly, a horrible shrieking sound was heard, permeating the room, resonating off of every wall. Looking up, I saw a large gaping hole carved out of the ceiling, one I hadn't bothered to notice before.

Let those who enter not be tempted by Satan. Keep only your ears, for by eyes and by mouth will you die…keep only your ears…you can't control what ears might hear, but as for the eyes and mouth…

"Everybody, close your eyes and don't speak, no matter what you hear!" I yelled above the unearthly and hellish shrieking from above. "Close your eyes and mouth!"

Jack looked down at me, aghast, but all I did was bury my face into my hands and curl up on the ground. Behind me, Ella sat down, and I prayed, oh I prayed so hard, that everybody I cared for was doing what I was doing.

The shrieking came closer, and I cried; cried harder than I had in years. It was ghastly and terrifying, causing all of my soul to cry out in pain and desolation. Never had such a sound pierced my consciousness so severely, making my very body rise up in agony, clawing at my mind and memory.

Then came voices, mixed with the shrieking, desperate voices, frightened voices, malicious voices. Voices I recognized.

I could hear my mother calling out for me; my father scolding me; grandma lamenting on her death bed; and my little sister, yelling and crying out for help, anyone to help. There was Elizabeth screaming for Will as he lay dying, screaming out her heart as his lay still and lifeless next to her. There was Isabella and Arielle, sobbing helplessly as the pirates attacked Port Royal, begging me to come back somehow. There was Richard, lonely, collapsed, incoherently muttering in grief, horrified that Ella had disappeared, that she had been kidnapped. There was Jack, wretched and alone, clawing at the ground as he cried, trapped on an island by his own crew; and then there was him shouting at me, asking how I could be so heartless and selfish as to ruined the plan, his plan, that would make everything right again. He shouted that he hated me, that he loathed me, that if I were to die, right now, he would be happier than he had been in years. Then there was Ella crying out for me, begging me to come back to her, begging for me to not be dead, to not be lost in the storm; and then her shrieks of agony as she realized that I must be dead, I must be gone forever.

I wanted to scream, wanted to join in the chorus of shrieking that sounded around my body. I wanted so badly to find my parents, save my sister, protect Isabella and Arielle, find Jack and beg for forgiveness, to hold Ella, tell her I was still alive, that I was right here beside her. I would do anything to fix the mistakes I had made, anything to bring my family and friends back, anything to have Jack forgive me…

I almost did. I almost cried out, insisting that everything had been a mistake, that I was sorry for abandoning everybody, that I was so sorry…

The voices swam around me, penetrating every part of my mind, body, and soul, but I did not speak. I did not open my eyes. These things that were hurting me, that were torturing me, were fake. They were not there with me. I knew. Ella was not screaming for help; she was right next to me, holding my hand. I could feel her back pressed up against mine, and I could feel that she was saying nothing. Her body was motionless except for the occasional twitch of fright that afflicted me as well.

I breathed and held Ella's hand tighter than before, straining my ears for true sounds, true voices, attempting to hold onto reality as my sanity floated around my head with the shrieking voices. I could here shrieks, men begging to be understood, then followed by screams of horror and the strangled yelps of someone dying.

I bit my lip so hard I could taste blood, that warm metallic taste that revolted me so. I shook, and Ella shook, and we sat there, me hoping beyond hope that we would make it out alive. That Elizabeth and Richard and Gibbs and Cotton and Jack and Ella would be alive. That somehow…somehow…just somehow…

I chanted to myself, in my head, chanted wishes, chanted ifs and maybes and hopefullys. I chanted forever, it seemed, chanted to keep the voices from hurting me, from weakening my dreams…

And then…

It was quiet. It wasn't a sudden quiet, though it seemed everything had disappeared at once. Shrieks persisted until the last desperate gasp for breath was heard and all that remained was the quiet, uneven breathing of those still living.

We sat there, no one making even the slightest movement for what seemed like ages.

"It's okay," someone gasped. It was Elizabeth, far away it sounded like, yet a hand removed my own hands from my face, and I saw her, staring down at me with a face of an angel.

I swallowed and licked my lips, that were chapped and still bleeding. Both my bruises were swollen and hurting terribly, like a hot iron was being pressed to them. Behind me Ella stirred, and her face came into view as well, drawn out like that of an old, tired personage. People were standing up, shakily if not uneasily; ones I recognized stood up, and after each familiar face, I let out a sob of relief; Richard, Gibbs, Jack…

I looked at Ella. She had been crying to, the stains of the tears streaked across her cheeks. "You were screaming at me," she said in a hoarse whisper. "You were screaming at me to not float away. And then you were crying, because you thought I was gone."

I opened my mouth to say what I had heard, but my mouth froze, and all I could do was hunch over and weep, letting the tears fall to the ground shamelessly. She held me tightly, kept me safe from the eyes of others, from their thoughts and condemnations.

After a time, we both stood up, and I let my eyes wander in shock. Bodies lay everywhere, strewn across the ground like a Persian rug of red and brown and grey. Lifeless eyes shone up, and mouths remained open like a cavernous hole, stretched in a continuous shriek, and faces forever etched with a look of panic and dread. Next to them sat those of the living, their faces contorted into desolation and hopelessness. There were many more dead than living.

"It seems only a select few remain alive," determined Belmont callously. "My men remain…considerably in tact. However, Barbossa, Sparrow, it seems your men are…significantly reduced."

I whipped around to face Belmont, who was standing only a few feet away, already pointing his pistol at a distressed and mutinous Jack. "You heartless monster," I seethed, and I ran up, intent on punching him again, but he grabbed my arm and shoved me forward.

"The Fountain is right through that door, according to the map. But so far our luck as been less than satisfactory, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was another trap connected with the Fountain. You will be the one to take the first sip, just to make sure it's not some type of poison."

Ella screamed out in retort, but I was first to speak. "What good would I drinking it do? I'm already young! Besides," I added, more as an afterthought than anything else, "I wouldn't take a drink to begin with. I don't want to be forever young."

Belmont opened his mouth, but thought better of whatever he was planning to say, and scanned the room, scrutinizing each person within his eyesight. "Fine. You," he pointed to a nearby soldier, a large, white headed man. "You are going to take the first sip. Understood?"

The man nodded helplessly and saluted.

"Very well. Sparrow, it is my guess that you have the key we need to get through that door?" Jack hardly nodded, his glare becoming stronger with every word that came from Belmont's mouth. "Give it to me."

Jack hesitated, but did pull the key from his pocket and hand it to Belmont. Greedily, the Commodore ran to the door and shoved the key into the keyhole. The door was opened, and a blast of fresh air filled the room, followed by a blast of sunlight.

Sunlight.

I gasped and ran toward the opening and looked out to see a most amazing sight.

Straight ahead of me was a large, beautiful waterfall that cascaded down into a small pool. Either side of this fall was a carpet of bushes and flowers, and at the top, a small hole where the blue sky could be seen. Blue sky. There was a way out.

Surrounding us was the cave, and the shape reminded me of an eight ball; round and smooth on the sides with a small opening near the top. Covering the floor was not only grass and shrubs, but treasure; chests of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, crowns, figurines, necklaces, rings, paintings, mirrors, and luxurious cloth. Everything sparkled and shined as a soft breeze swept through the space.

Belmont and Jack, who had come up behind me, both stood there stunned, and beyond them were Barbossa and Gibbs, graced with the same expression on their faces. Well, I wasn't about to stand here and gape any longer; I was going to figure out how to get out of here, get toward that sunlight, starting with how to get to that opening on top. The opening where I could see freedom and relief peeking through.

Stepping forward, I intended to strut down the slope that was in front of us, but my foot caught on a string, and I tumbled down, landing on a bush of birds of paradise.

"Ouch," I moaned, grabbed the side with the bruise. Then I realized what I had tripped on, and sat up hurriedly, watching for something to happen, like the opening to close, or an arrow to dart out.

Nothing happened.

No one else seemed to notice my misfortune, other than to assume it was my clumsiness, and I noticed that the string had snapped and now lay harmlessly on the floor. Everyone just started walking through, gaping up like a bunch of turkeys.

I blinked and frowned. Maybe that wasn't a trap. Maybe it was just…left there. By mistake.

Right.

Nothing here happened by mistake.

I watched the area suspiciously, ready to call out should something strange happen.

Nothing was happening, other than the remaining men were walking through the door like zombies, too dumbfounded to realize what they were looking at. They all congregated in a group located at the bottom of the pool, crowding around as the first man prepared to take a drink.

I stood up finally and bit my lip, which was still bleeding. Okay, so something bad wasn't happening. At least not right now. If only I knew what was going to happen (for I had no doubt something would), I could organize it so that, somehow, Belmont was trapped here while the rest of us were escaping through the hole. Somehow. I just needed to know what would happen.

"Miss Delaney! Get down here now," ordered Belmont, but his usual snarl did not seem to have the same ring to it, instead coated with excitement.

I closed the twenty or so feet that separated the entrance from the pool and came to stand next to Belmont. The old soldier had not taken a drink yet, but was bending precariously down with his head tilted toward me, as if waiting my own order.

"What is it?" I wiped away the blood from my lip and brought some loose hair away from my face.

"Read that." Belmont pointed toward a large wooden post with a plaque.

I came up and studied it carefully. It was in Latin still.

Aqua Vitae

Bibe et eris totus

Rete tui teus , vel cupidits er te rnam

I frowned. The first two lines were easy. Water of Life. Drink, and you will be whole. Easy. Unfortunately, the last line was considerably worn away and nearly impossible to make out in certain places.

I repeated what I could read to the group, not ready to reveal the rest to Belmont, who wasn't really paying much attention to the plaque itself. For all I knew, it might be something I could use to my advantage.

"Drink and be whole. That's clear enough of a message, man. Now drink!" commanded the Commodore, and he shoved the old soldier forward.

The man wasn't so easily soothed. "Is that some type of riddle? Is it hinting at something?" His face was contorted with fear, and I couldn't blame him. After what we had just been through, deadly paths, a pond of acid, the threat of falling into a bottomless pit, I would be rather reluctant to take the words for the plain truth.

All I could do was shrug. "Not that I can see. It's in the same type of style as the last directions were: walk to the door. And that's all we had to do, walk to the door."

He closed his eyes and tried to bend over and take a sip, but before he got close enough, he pulled away, shame and defiance in his eyes. "Commodore, I can't drink this. And I must agree with Miss Delaney here; I don't want to be young forever either. What would my wife say? I am nearly sixty five myself, and she is not far behind."

I held my breath and prayed that Belmont would not shoot him for his impertinence, but the prayer turned out to be unnecessary for the Commodore just rolled his eyes and dragged Jack out from behind him. "Fine. If you won't, Sparrow will test it. After all, he wanted it as much as myself."

Jack, who had been more or less hunched for most of the journey, shook himself and straightened his posture; but he looked confused. He had been heaved along and threatened to be killed countless times, and now the Commodore was offering him the chance to drink from the Fountain. It didn't add up.

Well, for me, it did add up. Belmont was preposterously mad; simple as that. He had been crazy enough to chase us across the ocean, threaten us with our lives, and now he was still fanatical enough to do anything necessary to make sure the Fountain was safe to drink. Rational thinking was no longer in function, and whatever Belmont did from now on was for the benefit of getting what he desired, no matter how absurd and dangerous it might be.

For the first time in a long time (and yes, a whole day is a very long time), Jack looked directly at me. He was still irate, that I could see. But he seemed wary, almost hesitant. Hesitant of what? I had already confirmed it was safe to drink; I was pretty much sure of it. And wary. Wary and hesitant. These were not qualities that commonly described Jack Sparrow.

He looked down at the pool with a definite amount of trepidation, then back at me with the same look as before. I nodded him forward. It was okay; it wasn't poisonous.

He kneeled down, cupped the water in his hands and brought it within three inches of his mouth before stopping and holding completely still. His eyes were pointed at the water in his grasp, but it wasn't that they were focused on. Jack was thinking, thinking, about drinking this.

My breath hitched in my chest; partly from surprise, but also from annoyance. This man had dragged me across the Caribbean, using me time and again, inflicting more misery and hardship than I had ever experienced before, to find this small pool of everlasting youth. And now, as he had it so near, he was thinking.

I wanted to run up and shove the water into his mouth. This was what he wanted, what he risk life (and others) for; he had better drink it.

But he sat there staring at the water. Everyone, including Belmont, was utterly silent as they watched with excitement and perplexity, and my eyes wandered to the plaque again. Rete tui teus , vel cupidits er te rnam. Tui and te were 'your.' Cupiditas was probably the actual word, and that was 'desire.' Vel was 'or.' Something about your something, or your desire would…something. It was a warning. It had to be. I swallowed and looked back at Jack.

He hadn't moved, but when I focused back on him, he looked up at me a final time; his anger, turmoil, and frustration all shining through his gaze. Without looking down at his hands, he opened them, and the water trickled back into the pool.

Belmont didn't even wait for a reason. Pushing Jack aside like one would shove a dog, the Commodore fell to his belly and began to drink the water from the pool, not even bothering to lift his head for a breath. It seemed like he lay there forever, just drinking. But, though everyone's immediate attention was avidly following Belmont, I was standing in a cloud of shock, and one look at Ella confirmed that I wasn't the only one.

Why hadn't Jack taken the water? Eternal youth? He had been dreaming of this moment! Why hadn't he taken it?

I blinked, but that was it; I was too stunned about…well, everything to really do much more other than blink.

Escape. I needed to focus on escape. We had to get out. No time for puzzling reactions of Jack, or anyone, for that matter.

Rete tui teus , vel cupidits er te rnam. I looked closer at the plaque. I could see a faint trace of a 'i' in the first word. Retie. Probably retine, or retineo. To contain. But it was an order. Contain. Contain what? I looked at the third word. Both letters were incomprehensible.

"Have I changed yet?" asked Belmont, leaping to his feet and extending his arms out.

I looked at him.

Nothing was different.

Absolutely nothing.

I blinked hard. Maybe I just wasn't looking carefully enough.

Nothing.

Still the same grayish hair, same lines of age, same age spots. He didn't look even a minute younger. But wait, as he opened his mouth…I peered in. his teeth, while decent for the time, had had cavities on the lower row that were pretty noticeable. But they were gone…

And hadn't I broken his nose only a few minutes ago? The dried blood was still there, but his nose was oddly straight. And I could have sworn it was a mite crooked a moment before…

No one seemed willing to say the obvious; Belmont was no younger than before. So the cave remained silent as a grave until one of the pirate muttered, "Well, you do look a mite healthier."

Belmont's eyes turned red and his mouth shut into a gruesome frown. "I am suppose to be young. Forever." He whipped around to the pool and bent closer, looking as his reflection before crying out in a feral growl. "Why have I not changed?"

There was a moment of hush before the talk of frightened wonder radiated from the small group. The soldiers were bewildered, though I did detect a sense of relief; the pirates were beyond stunned, blinking and frowning as they shook their heads in disbelief; Barbossa's face was nothing but a stone mask, though I was sure he was beyond livid; and Jack was…frowning. Just frowning. And disappointed. Very disappointed.

He looked at me again, and is grimace deepened before he turned away a final time to sit on a nearby rock.

I ignored the gesture, and the look; most of my emotions had become numb by this time, especially after the beating I had incurred in the other room from the shrieking voices. Instead, I stared at the pool.

Aqua Vitae. Water of Life.

Nothing in the name hinted at youth. Just life.

Drink and be whole.

Not, drink and be young. Just whole. Whole. As in complete. As in well. As in healthy.

Belmont's nose was no longer broken. It was better again. And so were his teeth.

If…if it was what I thought it was…

I bent down to the water and took some in my hand, focusing on the pain I now felt, especially in my bruises. Voices were calling out to me, distantly, but I paid them no heed.

I drank the water, and it was the sweetest water I had ever tasted. It felt like a blend of roses and mint and all the fresh flavors I loved were streaming down my throat, healing and uplifting my spirits. I sighed in contentment and took another sip, understanding now why Belmont had not been in any hurry to stop. It was exotic. It was beyond words. It was…painless. I felt like a cloud, floating carelessly through the sky.

I touched my cheek carefully. No pain. My skin was flawless and smooth, as if Richard had never touched me. I brought up my shirt to look at Jack's bruise. Nothing. Not even the smallest mark. I ran my tongue along my lips. They weren't even chapped.

"Oh my…my…Finn!" gasped Ella, who had evidently been watching me with the utmost worry. "You're…you…you're…well, I…"

"I'm whole," I said. "I'm not sick, hurt, or deformed in any way." I stared down at my hands. My left pinkie had been broken once, playing basketball, and had healed just in a slightly crooked position. It was perfectly straight, as it had always been. Maybe…

"Look at my ears," I commanded Ella. "Are they perfectly straight?"

She frowned. My ears, though not noticeable, were just a tad off center from one another. Hardly noticeable except to me. I mean…it wasn't like it had ever truly annoyed me. But it would be nice to actually have straight ears.

Ella did as bided, though still frowning. "I…they look the same, Finn. I mean, they weren't really that crooked before, hardly at all, but…no, they look the same. All the same."

I blinked. Okay. So I was the same as before. I was whole, as I had been designed to be whole. If I had been born with a real deformity, then that wouldn't be healed. Whole only meant whole as when a person was born.

Belmont had watched my experiment with careful scrutiny, a gaze I had purposefully ignored, and now came up to study my face, forcing my chin up. "So, your wounds are healed. And my nose is healed. This means only one thing."

I looked over at Ella who looked at Richard who looked at Elizabeth, who looked back at me. What did it mean? That we were dead now?

"It means…this is the key to living forever. Water of life, you say? Life. It should be able to bring back anything that is dead then, right? It makes it whole again. Perfect health for the rest of my days. Only a sip." He smile had become maniacal, his voice rising higher and higher with glee at the prospect of what he had obtained. "Eternal Youth would be nice, but what good would it do if I could be killed? This way, I can't be. I'm invincible. If ever I get shot or stabbed, all I have to do is take a tiny sip, and I'm whole. I'm alive. Belmont the Indestructible. Glorious."

He dropped my face and walked away about ten paces before falling to his knees. Raising his head, he laughed; harder and harder until the sound filled the cave with a nasty echo that penetrated every body standing there with a chilling feeling that crawled over the skin in the most horrible fashion.

He continued to laugh and laugh and laugh. Elizabeth moved toward the pool and kneeled down, as did many people, to drink from it. Belmont was completely cut off from reality, just kneeling there, wrapped up in his own mind, not bothering to watch any others. I watched as man after man knelt down and took a sip, sometimes small, sometimes a long draught. Elizabeth had found a vial, a large one at that, and was filling. Will, I thought, she's getting it for Will.

I smiled at the thought of their happy reunion, and she stood up, radiant, almost shaking in delight and excitement. She could have her husband back. They could be together again. Maybe it was glorious.

Cotton, the man with no tongue, bent down to take his own sip, and open rising, opened his mouth gallantly and sang a low bass note, grinning as it rang true and deep. Gibbs, who stood next to him, patted him on the back, smiling himself. "Good man, Cotton. It will be nice to hear you sing again."

Cotton snorted. "I'll have you know this blasted parrot never said what I was really thinking. It's a bloody nuisance, that's what. Shoo, now." He attempted to push the poor thing off his shoulder, but the parrot wouldn't budge, and after three unsuccessful tries, Cotton sighed and patted it gently. "Well, you have been a good friend. I'll give you that."

Jack was bending over the pool as well, a large rum bottle in hand. I caught myself wondering where he had procured such an item, but didn't bother finishing the thought. He rinsed it out, then dipped it into the pool before corking it and holding like a prize, cradled against his chest.

I hoped, for the briefest, dimmest second, that now Jack had what he wanted, he wouldn't be angry with me.

It was, once again, no good. His eyes were subdued, but the resentment was strong, and from them, I could see what he was resenting. I still had yet to find an escape for us; and I had been the one to get us into this mess. Of course he was still angry.

Escape. I needed an escape.

Glancing over at Belmont, I saw that he was still kneeling, but was now looking at the vast treasure, as was most of the company now.

I bent down at the plaque and gritted my teeth. Ella came down next to me. "Is there more?"

She obviously hadn't been fooled at my previous translation.

"Yeah, there's more. But it's smudged, see? I have part of it. We need to contain something and…oh, if only I could understand there rest! You see, remember when I tripped?"

She gave one nod.

"I tripped over a string. It set something off, like with the stone earlier. I'm positive. But…nothing happened right away. I think this tells us about it, but I don't know what it says." I clenched my fists in frustration. "Tell everyone we care about, Richard, Elizabeth, Jack's crew, Jack, that we need to be ready to make a dash for it. But don't move yet, not until I know what the danger is. Don't let Belmont get suspicious. Just let them know something is going to happen. Just in case something does happen before I figure it out. Then we all make a dash for the opening. Try and find a way out, like stairs or a ramp. We need to get out."

Ella nodded and stepped away, leaving me with the exhausting task of interpreting smudges.

Retine tui teus , vel cupiditas er te rnam.

Okay, so the first part of the warning already had a verb, but the second part didn't, and the 'or' indicated that a new one was need. Ero would fit well. Will be. That was a good verb for a warning.

Retine tui teus , vel cupiditas ero te rnam.

The 'r' had a faint 'u' next to it. Runam…ruinam? That meant ruin, or down fall.

Retine tui teus , vel cupiditas ero te ruinam.

I almost had it! The answer was there, staring at me! Contain your…blank, or desire (greed), will be your downfall.

Contain…what? The gold? No, that was silly, it was already here. Contain…how much gold you take. Or how much water. That would make sense…except neither of those words were remotely hinted at on the plaque. One word. That was all. We needed to contain one thing.

Contain…there could be many meanings for contain. To keep confined, to…keep small? No…no…well…I frowned. Keep small. Keep something short. What could we keep short?

Teus.

'T' words in latin: temple, skin, cloth, correct, clean, time…

I gasped.

Time.

Contain your time, or greed will be your downfall.

The string…it had set off a timed trap. The longer we stayed here, the sooner we came to being…destroyed.

I sprang up and frantically searched the cave for Ella. Upon seeing her, I began darting in that direction, but then something cracked.

It was not a small crack. It was a big one. And it was coming from the ceiling.

I looked up, as did everyone else, with fear and panic in the air. All along the top were little cracks; uniformed cracks too, like a large chessboard, or a grid.

"Time!" I shouted, still running toward Ella. "We've spent too much time! That's what the warning was!"

A large chunk of the ceiling fell ten feet away from me, as at the instant the rock hit the floor, the entire cave became something similar to a swarming ant hill. No one had any particular direction; they only wanted to avoid the possibility of death.

"To the opening, above the waterfall!"

I was not the only one shouting this out, and the men began a frantic scramble to safety. But it was horrible to watch, for many had wandered into the deep recesses of the cave, and the falling rocks had become more frequent, smashing some as they blitzed toward the blue sky and protection.

My initial path toward Ella was cut short as a large boulder slammed into the ground in front of me. "Run!" I shouted at her over the boulder and the crashing sounds around us. "Go to the opening!"

Relief came as I saw that Elizabeth had made it to the base of the waterfall and was steadily climbing upwards; she had found a path. Behind her followed soldiers and pirates alike.

More boulders fell, the cave trembling violently and making it hard to move properly. My ears felt like they would burst each time another rock fell.

I began to walk toward the opening. People I cared about were all in front of me, rushing to the light. Good. Everyone was safe, and--

THUD!

Landing flat on my face, I rolled unevenly down the hill, stopping near the pool. I had tripped in a pile of fancy clothes, and now was sufficiently tangled in a long cape and numerous jackets.

CRASH!

The ground reverberated as a large boulder fell within three inches of my legs.

I tried to stand up, but couldn't even budge.

With horror, I realized that he cape that enveloped me was also trapped under the boulder. Jackets wrapped around my arms, forbidding me the option of getting loose.

I was trapped. And almost everyone still living was at the waterfall.

Just then Jack ran forward, completely unaware of me, and as I opened my mouth to beg for help, he tripped as well, and his rum bottle went flying into the air only to land in the middle of the pool, a good twenty feet away.

He swore loudly and readied himself to dive into the pool.

"JACK!"

He whipped around at the sound of my cracking voice to see my struggling body laying there helplessly.

"Jack, help me! I can't get out!"

My head was spinning in fright, my vision changing between blurry and crystal clear clarity. I couldn't die here…not here…surely Jack would come and save me…

But he stood there, his anger still prevalent in his eyes.

He looked at the bottle.

Then he looked at me.

Then he looked at the bottle, and took a small step forward.

The ceiling above me cracked a little, but nothing fell.

"JACK!" I screeched using a voice that sounding nothing like my own. "JACK! Help me! Please!"

He turned back, his face contorted with rage and fear.

The bottle held everything he had worked for. And I was the bothersome girl who had foiled the plan…his plan…

His voice, his shrieking voice, came back to me with disturbing precision. He hated me, he would be happier with out me…

Jack needed to make a choice; eternal life or me. The agony at such a decision was plain, perverting his face into horrible expressions. But he was angry, always angry.

The ceiling cracked again. And Jack didn't budge.

Angry. He was still angry with me. Angry enough to leave me here to die.

I knew, I knew it at the last moment of looking at him, before going unconscious by a stray rock hitting me on the head, that he wasn't going to save me.

He wasn't going to save me.

"As for myself; I know what it is I want, and I don't intend to lose either of them."

"What if there was a choice? What if you couldn't have them both?"

"I won't have to make that choice. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow"

Jack couldn't have both. He had to make a choice. He had made a choice.

And it had been the choice I knew he would make all along.

Not me.