Chapter Thirty
The Nine Layers of A Sparrow's Hell

- Somewhere in the City, Atlantis -
- Day Two of Triton's War -

The battle raged on as the three men searched the city. Cannons were blaring in the early night air, and gun shots were heard in the distance. Neptune fell in step with Grant who was mumbling something under his breath. The former King rolled his blue eyes and glanced back at Bill who was staring at something in the distance.

"Bill? Mate, you alright?" Neptune asked, stopping in the middle of the glass-like streets and staring at his friend. Bill focused his hazel eyes, who had since became their true color after he was released of the Dutchman's bind, and stared at the horizon. A green flash shot through the night sky. That made all three of the men stare at each other in shock. The green flash had an affect on all of them. Even Grant who had been put into some sort of angry trance at hearing of Bill's story of the mast just the previous day before. Grant's eyes met that of Bill's as he asked, "Someone passed over."

"Or someone didn't do their job." Was Bill's reply. Wiliam hadn't been doing it. Not since Lila had taken ill and had the baby. Not that he had been slacking, well, he had been slacking. Because of his debt, Will's first and foremost job was being the Dutchman's captain. Then, he was Lila's wife and prince of the sea. Only second. And Bill knew that being captain would never come before Lila and his daughter, the two things that mattered to him most.

"Calypso's back on the Sun, keeping watch. She told me that..." Neptune trailed off, meeting Bill's gaze once more. Grant made a horrified grunt sound from behind them. The three of them turned to see that the sky had clouded over with an eerie mixture of gray and black. At squinting, the three soon found out that the sky was clouding over with...

"Souls?" Grant asked, in a horrified, and possibly disgusted, tone of voice. Bill sighed as he started walking again and said, "He's not doing his job."

"That's not good." Neptune said, pointing out the extreme obvious. But he was no doubt thinking of his brother and what had happened to him. When Grant got done shooing a soul that was hanging a little too closely to him, he turned to look at his brother-in-law and asked, "Why isn't it good?" Neptune sighed, motioning for Grant to follow Bill down the streets. Thinking of a better way to do it, Neptune put his hand under his chin and wiggled his fingers, mimicing his brother's tentacles. Grant's left eye twitched as he said, "That's interesting."

Neptune sighed, before following Bill down the steps leading towards the palace.

"If they were arrested, they'd be in the brig." Neptune stared at Bill, as if trying to figure out if he really did, in fact, just say that since it was so obvious. Grant rolled his chocolate eyes and twirled his sword back into it's holder, "Which Turner has no idea where it's at, I assume."

"No, but I do." Neptune said, continuing down the stairs. Bill groaned inwardly, not wanting to follow Neptune. He sighed, and turned to see that Grant was apparently having a problem with one of the souls. Grant shuddered, trying to shoo the poor thing off as if it was a fly or something. With a slight shudder, he made a disgusted face, and ran past Bill after Neptune.

"What did Jacob say they were doing, exactly?" Neptune asked, a minute later, as the men walked down a dark corridor. He put the torch, which had been hanging on the wall, and put it more so in front of him so that he could see ahead. Bill shook his head, and glanced over at Grant who still looked extrememly scared from his soul encounter. Bill smirked slightly, and said to Neptune, "He said Lilabelle and William were going into the city for Mercer mainly. Apparently, Lila believes Saphira and Rupert to be Triton's children or something like that, so Jack, Saphira, Rupert and Anamaria were to go into the palace for Triton."

"Why does she think they're his children?" Grant said, rubbing his arms uncomfortably. Neptune smirked. Captain Grant Sparrow Teague had fought the likes of Blackbeard, Davy Jones, Sao Fang and Barbossa. Once, all at the same time even. But apparently the sight of souls trapped helplessly between worlds scared the infamous Keeper Of the Codes out of his mind. Neptune opened one of the rain soaked, wooden doors and said, "That they are. That's why Rupert and Saphira could never say they were related to the public. If word got out that they weren't Mercer's children but Triton's, the Royal Navy would have killed them."

"They don't know?" Grant asked, apparently not having listened at the last Brethren Court meeting. Not that anyone did. Jack and Lila had been at each other's throats the whole time, it was hard to hear what was going on at the other end of the long table. Neptune shook his head at that question and said, "Never have. I'm sure they know now thanks to Lila." Grant nodded, and looked at the shimmering person standing beside him. He shuddered again, and walked in between Neptune and Bill. Bill glanced at Grant and said, "Honestly, Sparrow. They're just people." Neptune smirked back at Bill as he laughed.

"Dead people, Turner." Grant said in a defensive tone, with a shudder. "Slimy, sparkly people who aren't...alive-"

"-well, neither is your son, if you think about it, mate." Bill pointed out, shooting a smirk at Neptune who was still laughing. Grant wrinkled his nose as he suddenly became deep in though. Brushing that aside, Grant said, "Well, your son is death."

"Touche." Bill said, narrowing his eyes somewhat. Grant smiled in victory, before turning on his heels, and following Neptune back down the hallway. Bill rolled his dark eyes, but smirked when he saw that same soul floating after Grant. Neptune smirked back at Bill as, once again, Grant tried to shoo the soul off. "Sparkly dead people...I don't like these sparkly dead people..." Grant was mumbling that to himself, depsite the fact that Neptune and Bill were getting very annoyed with him by the time that they reached the brig. Grant screamed when the soul shimmered around him. His eyes got wide as he leaned closer to Neptune like his son, invading everyone's personal space. Neptune rolled his eyes, and put his hand on the door knob, only to figure out that it was locked.

He heard a stirring inside the door, and he asked, "Lila?"

"Daddy?" He heard call from the other side of the door. Both Bill and Neptune sighed in relief, because where Lila was, Will was. No matter how mad Will could get at Lila, he was too in love with her (possibly too obsessive and protective) to let her go anywhere alone. Especially now that she was Queen. Grant pushed past them, and said to the door, "Oi, is my idiot of a son in there?" Silence accompanied that statement, letting the three men know that yes, Jack Sparrow was in there.

"Don't worry, love. We'll get you out." Neptune said to Lila, eyeing the suit of armor in the corner. He sighed, knowing that wouldn't help. Then he saw the statue of Triton. Neptune's gaze locked with Grant's. Grant smirked and looked over at Bill who was already over at the statue, lifting it up.

"So wha' would be your first layer?" Jack was asking Lila, inside the brig. They'd only been in there for a few hours, and Jack was already bored. Hell, even Lila was. Will rested his head against the cell door that ajoined to Lila's so that they were sitting back to back.

Saphira, who had become quiet since Triton was thrown inside, was listening to Jack and Lila as they talked about what they're nine layers of hell would be. She didn't ask, as no would did, considering they were Sparrows and you never questioned them since they did have their bursts of complete and utter brillance.

"Being stuck in a brig with you." Lila shot at him, causing Jack to nod in agreement. The two of them were quiet before Jack said, "Second?"

"Being stuck in a brig with Elizabeth."

"Agreed." Jack said, with a nod, causing Will to sigh and glance over at both of them. "Third, being stuck on a Godforsaken spit of land watchin' some idiot sail away with me ship."

"Standing on said ship, sailing away from the person you love as they stand in the Godforsaken port of Port Royal and watching them fall in love with someone else." Will sighed when Lila said that too, causing Jack to nod and say, "Forth, bein; in the Locker."

"I agree with that one."

"Fifth, would be bein' eaten by a beastie."

"Um, being eaten by Sao Fang." Jack snorted at that one, causing Lila to smirk. Saphira glanced over at the cell Triton was in. He wasn't looking at her anymore like he had been. Now, he was just staring at the ground as if deep in thought.

"Level six?" Lila asked, leaning against Jack a little, making Will put his arm through the bar and push her back. Lila shot a look at Will, but instantly relaxed when he smiled at her. She smiled too, and leaned back against the bars as Jack said, "Bein' married to William."

"Being married to you." Lila shot back at him, smiling. Jack rolled his eyes, as the pounding on the oak doors got louder. It was quiet for a moment, before Jack turned to Lila and said, "So level seven would be...bein' married to Lizzie?" Jack smirked over at Will who shot him a death glare. Jack rolled his eyes and said, "Fine, fine. Level seven shall be cuttin' out me 'eart..."

"...being married to someone who had their heart cut out by a witch." Will smirked at that. Jack rolled his eyes and waited for Lila to continued. Lila thought for a moment, before she said, "Level eight is sitting in one of Calypso's bloody 'the tides, dey be chagin' lectures." Jack smirked in complete agreement as he said, "Agreed. And level nine of hell shall be-"

And at that moment, the door leading to the brig busted down and in walked Captain Grant Teague Sparrow. Jack gulped and said, "-my father."

- Outside the Palace -

"The point of wha'?" He asked, his eyebrows knitted in confusion. He glanced over at Lila who was sitting beside Saphira on the rock. Lila turned so that she was watching the horizon when another green flash shot through the sky. Will, who had hold of his key once again, tore his eyes off of the horizon and said, "The point of Ascension."

"Ok, the wha'-" Jack was cut off by Grant walking up behind him, and smacking his head. Jack mouthed 'ow' as he rubbed the spot his father had just hit. Will opened his mouth to speak, but Lila was the one who finished, "The point of Ascension. It's where Will's suppossed to take all of the lost souls so that they can move on to their next life."

When Jack just blinked at her, Lila sighed and said, "Pretty much, all it means that is when someone dies, and they're held back in this world for some reason, Will has to take them to the Ascension so that they can ascend to their next life. Whether that be to the golden-gates of Heaven, or in your case, darling. The nine layers of hell."

"Lila." Neptune said, in a warning tone, coming to stand beside her. Neptune looked over at Triton, who had remained silent through this whole thing. Knowing that soon enough they were going to have to face this, Neptune walked away from his daughter over to where Triton stood. Lila glanced over at Saphira to see a worried look spread across her face.

"We're going to have to go the other side." Will said, pushing himself off of the rock he had been leaning on. "That's what they want. They've got control over the souls-"

"-No, Will. They don't have control over the Locker or the souls. It's you. You haven't done your job." Had Lila said that in a harsh tone of voice, Will would have countered her. But she didn't. The tone she was using was almost a scared one. She walked over to him and said, "Will, I'm suppossed to be second. That was your promise to Calypso. That as long as the curse remained broken, I had to be second. To you, I'm not. Your job is-"

Realization hit Will hard. He had to do something, and fast. A sharp pain shot through Will's body. Had Lila not been beside him to support him, he probably would have fallen. Neptune looked over at Bill and said, "He needs to get in water-"

"-he needs to get on the Dutchman and to the Locker. Fast." Bill said, taking the other side that Lila wasn't supporting. With a nod, Grant and Neptune started down the streets of Atlantis. Lila and Bill (supporting Will) followed. Everyone followed until Triton was left alone with Saphira. Saphie looked up into his dark eyes, Rupert's eyes, and found that she couldn't lock her eyes with his intense gaze. Dropping her gaze, she closed her own eyes momentarily and followed the rest of them down the streets. Triton looked after Saphira as she walked, before coming face to face with the statue of Athena. The resemblance was simply remarkable, though Triton wasn't going to give in too easily...

When they made it to the Dutchman, after going to long way so they wouldn't get caught, Lila and Bill brought Will into his quarters to rest since his health, due to the curse, was rapidly decling. Rupert and Ana had disappeared over to the Widow and Jack and Saphira had gone to the Pearl, leaving the rest on the Dutchman and Sun. Triton was standing on the deck of the Dutchman, looking out at Atlantis as the war raged on. He heard boots coming from behind him, and a voice called out, "I think we need to talk."

"It's over a century too late, Neptune."

"No it's not, John." Neptune said, coming to stand beside his old friend. Triton looked over at Neptune to see that he wasn't looking at him like he had thought, but out at the city that had once been a trick...nothing more than a fake. Now, it was a division of a kingdom that Calypso ordered to never be broken. And now it was. "It's a long way to the world's end."

Which meant that they would have plenty of time to talk.

"Will, wake up." Inside the captain's quarters, Bill was standing over William's bed as Lila sat beside him, trying to make the immortal captain wake up. Lila pushed some of his curls back, and whispered, "Querido, please wake up." Will's eyes fluttered open, making Bill walk to his side and ask, "Son?"

"Dad...go..." Will coughed, causing Lila to close her eyes. Bill kneeled down and said, "Son, what is it? What do you need?" Bill was ignoring the fact that at all times on the Dutchman, they agreed that it was best to adress each other in rank, though Bill wasn't too thrilled at the idea of calling his son 'captain', so he usually just stuck to 'sir'. Even so, now was not a time to be formal to his captain, "William?"

"Rum...for the pain..." Will winced again, causing Lila to take his hand. "It hurts." Bill looked down at his son with an expression of being worried. Bill nodded after a minute, and quickly left the room to fetch Will's rum and, to Will's pleasure, shutting the door behind him as he left. Lila looked down to see that Will's eyes were closed. She stared down at him, holding back tears as she said, "Will?"

Will opened his eyes, and in one swift motion, he had her pinned her under him. She looked at him in complete shock, and was about to say something to him, when he leaned down and kissed her. She felt his hands move to her neck. Not entirely sure what he was doing, she gave into her captain, and kissed him back. When he pulled back, so she could breath since it was only out of pure habit that he did it, she yelled, "You bast-"

"Now, now. Don't say things you'll regret, Li." Will said, smirking down at her. Lila put her hand to her neck to feel that he had put the key back around it. She smiled back up at him as he said, "Li, I'm sorry. You know...it's truthfully always belonged to you. Always has-"

"-Always, Will." Lila leaned up and kissed him again. He smiled against her, before rolling back on the bed so that she was beside him. Just as he moved his hand to her waist, they heard the door open. Something didn't register. In either of them. They just stayed there as his voice called out, "Son, there was-" And that was accompanied by the sound of a bottle dropping on the floor, and rolling underneath the bed. "Well, I guess you're feeling better."

Lila pulled away from Will as if a lightning bolt shot through her. When the door shut, she glanced over at Will who was laughing. She smacked his arm, and closed her eyes.

For that moment, the only sound they could hear was the captain's heart beating in the chest in the corner of the cabin, and the waves crashing against the Dutchman as they swiftly tried to make it out of Atlantis, to which they'd tried so hard to get to in the last few months.

But soon, the calming sounds of the rhythmic beating and the waves crashing were interrupted by Grant yelling about 'some bloody sparkling slimy shimmering soul' following him around.