"Tragedy blows through your life like a tornado, uprooting everything. Creating chaos. You wait for the dust to settle and then you choose. You can live in the wreckage and pretend it's still the mansion you remember. Or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild." Veronica; Veronica Mars

AN: There is a hint of rape in this chapter. If you disagree with this please skip over that section. I will mark the section with 'xXx' to show it. I am very sorry if this upsets anyone.

Demon Called Deception

Chapter Eighteen: Pain

Her screams echoed throughout the ship; her agony and anger merging into one painful shriek. She had sworn to herself that she would not scream; that she would not give him the satisfaction. But everything he had done to her, all the stabbings, the burnings, the slicings had broken through her threshold. She had been hurt in ways she never thought possible.

"Does it hurt lass?" Skinner whispered. His fingers trailed down her skin. "Do you feel the pain seeping into your bones?"

Emory gasped in response, her lungs burning with each breath. Her flesh twitched under his fingers, her back arching as his fingertips brushed a tender bruise on her chest.

"I can feel yer muscles beneath yer skin. I can feel them twitch and writhe as you move, as you try to hold back your screams. I can hear yer heart pounding every time I touch you," he stopped for a moment, his eyes drinking in her bleeding wounds. "I will break you," he whispered, leaning in close to her ear. "That last glimmer of hope that is in yer eyes will disappear. You will be mine. You will do as I say and obey me."

Emory drew in a shaky breath. "I-" she started, and then stopped, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain. "I . . . will never . . . obey you."

Skinner laughed. "Still so strong. So stubborn," he sneered. "Let's see if we can break you of that."

Her eyes were barely open, her mind in a hazy fog. Through the fog in her mind she could swear she saw someone, a woman standing over her. The woman, the ghost of a woman more like, knelt down next to her, running a wisp of a hand over her bleeding cheek.

"My poor little girl," the woman whispered. "You've been through so much, seen so much. You should never have had to go through this. You should have had an easier life."

Emory tried to open her eyes wider, tried to get her mind to focus on her surroundings. "Unh . . ."

"Shh, my child. It's time. You have to take him to the caves. It will end soon. Titus has to be stopped."

"Ti . . . tus."

"Take them there," the ghost whispered. "Take them and end this."

"Jack."

Jack's eyes twitched. He had been dozing; his eyes had only closed for a few minutes. He grumbled to himself. He hadn't gone to sleep the night before, choosing instead to pore over maps and charts.

"Jack," the voice whispered again. "Jack, go to the island. You have to beat him there. Go quickly. It's time."

Jack's eyes shot open, searching maniacally around the cabin. "Lor?"

His eyes found no one; no image of a woman; no soft gold eyes. "I'm goin' crazy," he finally muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. A soft knock on the door drew his gaze up. "Come in."

The door opened slowly, hesitantly, to reveal Conway, Emory's first mate. "Beggin' yer pardon Cap'n," he began.

Jack nodded. "What can I do for you, Mr. Conway?"

"I've been meanin' ta talk to you Cap'n, since way before this whole mess began."

Jack looked up at him, his eyebrows raised. He flipped his hand at him, silently telling him to continue.

"I've known you for years, Captain Sparrow," at this Jack sat up from his reclined position. "I was part of Captain Adams' crew."

"Lor?" Jack questioned.

"Aye."

"That's impossible. All of her crew was killed more than twenty years ago."

Conway shook his head, a sad smile crossing his lips. "Near as I can tell I was the only survivor, save for Cap'n Adams. I looked for her for two years; every time I kept missing her. I gave up once I heard the rumors of her death. I met up with one of yer crew in Tortuga an' he was carryin' Emory. I knew then the rumors of her death were true."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "I don't remember a Conway on Lor's crew."

Conway laughed slightly, an embarrassed laugh. "No, sir. I wasn't known as Conway then. Captain Adams called me Skids."

"Ah. The pick-pocket from Tortuga," Jack replied, recognition dawning on him. "How'd you survive?"

"Wasn't my time to die."

Jack stared over at him, sitting back in his seat again. "Was that all you wanted to tell me?"

"No sir. It's about Captain Wyatt."

"What about her?"

"Not what sir. Who."

xXx

The splash of cold water hit her, jolting her immediately awake. The salt water burned her wounds, causing her to hiss in pain.

"My poor beautiful girl," Titus said, staring down at her, an empty bucket held loosely in his hands. "How mistreated you are. How tortured, how abused."

"Go ta 'ell."

Titus smirked. "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll bring it here. The world will be a much better place once I own it."

"Not while I still protect it," she hissed.

He laughed, kneeling down next to her. He reached out one hand, trailing his fingers lightly down her cheeks. Titus leaned into her, his free hand going to the back of her neck, holding her to him. "I will have you as my queen," he whispered, his free hand roaming down her chest. Emory fought back a scream as the palm of his hand dug into a cut on her stomach. "For centuries I have longed for you, but you were always out of reach, Prisis. But not anymore. I am one step away from reclaiming this world and you."

"You never had me," she gasped. "It was part of yer sick imagination."

Titus laughed again. "Sick?" he asked, pushing her forcefully to the ground. "I'll show you just how sick my imagination can be."

Jack stared over at Conway, his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not sure I understand."

"I know its difficult Cap'n, but you gotta believe me. It's imperitive that you do. The fate of this world depends on it."

Jack was silent for a moment. "So, yer-"

"Yes."

"An' Emory is-"

"Yes."

"So who's Skinner?"

Conway ran a hand through his thinning hair. "The bastard is no one. He's just a nuisance; a man obsessed with somethin' that doesn't belong to 'im."

"Sounds like a pirate." Jack replied, grinning.

Conway laughed. "But 'e's not the one we need ta be worryin' about. The other man is."

Jack watched Conway, the way he moved, the way his face lost all humor as he spoke. His eyes told the full story. His eyes bore all seriousness as he spoke his words. His eyes bore all the hatred while his voice remained calm. His eyes held Jack's as he spoke, never wavering, never breaking contact.

His muscles would tense, his hands clenching into fists, the only outward sign that he was aggravated. His tale had revealed an integral clue to the mystery of the treasure and the people surrounding it. His words had woven a tapestry of information that Jack had not previously known.

Now the only thing he had to do was figure out what he believed.

"How are you feeling Rebecca?"

Rebecca's head shot up to see Michel standing in front of her, a plate of food in his hands. He sat down slowly, a smile lighting his face. "I know things have been difficult for you."

Rebecca smiled slightly. "I am fine. I- I have had time to think things over."

"And?" he asked hopefully.

"And I have decided that I will accept things the way they are," she paused. "For now."

Michel watched her closely; watching as she picked at her food. He reached out a hand and placed it on her own hand, stilling her movements. "Rebecca, I'm sorry that we never told you. You know we did it to protect you, right?"

Rebecca smiled again. "I know."

Alex watched as his father sharpened the blade of his sword, the metal glinting in the sunlight. His gaze turned to the closed door of the captain's quarters. Conway had been visiting for most of the day, he and Jack holed up in the room discussing God knows what.

"He'll tell us when he's ready Alex."

"What do you suppose they're talking about?"

Will shrugged, still focusing on the blade in his hands. "I don't know. Just relax, he'll tell us when he's ready."

Alex sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I'm just tired of waiting."

Will finally looked up, his hands stilling. He saw the anger and the fear etched on his son's face, revealing much more than Alex would ever say. "It will be okay Alex. I know you're angry. I know that it's still hard on you even after all these years. But it will be okay. Neither I nor Jack will allow anything to happen to you again."

Alex sat down next to his father, his eyes closed. "I just-I'm-" he paused, taking in a deep breath. "I'm afraid," he finished, allowing his military demeanor to crumble. "It has been over twenty years but I can still feel the fear that I felt when I was a child."

Will reached over, wrapping his arm around Alex's shoulders and drawing him to his chest. Will had known that Alex had been acting different since meeting Skinner again in the cave, but he had not realized how deep the fear had settled.

"It will be all right," he whispered. "I promise you that this will all be over soon."

Emory hurt. She was in pain. Her muscles screamed in agony as her mind reeled. She bore bruises on top of bruises, new cuts and pain in places she didn't even think possible. Old wounds had been reopened, trails of blood trickled down her skin. His laughter still echoed in her ears even after he had left, causing constant shivers down her spine.

Emory could still feel his hands on her body. Every place he had touched her felt like they were on fire. She could feel screams building up inside of her. Her back arched as she tried to move. Her hands clenched, her jagged nails biting into her palms, drawing blood.

Finally the scream erupted, burning her lungs and echoing throughout the ship. All of her pain, all of her anger, all of her fear was laced in the scream. Every wrong that was done to her was released. Every hope, every dream, every love was let go as the scream erupted from her body.

"She's not just the Guardian, Cap'n Sparrow," Conway whispered. "You know that, right?"

"I guessed as much."

"She'll be the one to end this. She's the prophesied one. She is the Key."

AN: Wow. That has to be one of the most emotionally charged chapter that I have ever written. At least to me. I hope that all of you liked it. I had some trepidation about it at first, but then realized this is how it had to be. Let me know what you think!

Now, on to the reviewers!

PineAppleLintYes, that was a disturbing chapter, but what did you think about this one? And don't forget that Jack hasn't aged. While in reality he's around 60 (or something) since he's tied to the map he hasn't aged. Nor has the crew of the Pearl. I hope you enjoyed.

Dawnie-7: They are one big happy family, aren't they?

The DuTchess of Doom: Well . . . they haven't found a way out yet, but I hope you liked it anyway. This one was darker than the last, but it reveals so much more!