They left the river bank and started to head upwards with Jack leading the way. Swords were used to cut down the dense foliage, made of crisscrossing vines.

Jack noticed what was ahead of him and paled, as his brown eyes fell on the chasm. If one looked over the edge, one could see a rocky river below along with remnants of a bridge on each side of the chasm but no bridge in sight.

"As I thought. Not this way –" he mumbled to himself and was about to turn when Angelica approached him.

"This is the way, isn't it?" she asked him, having already spotted the chasm with the missing bridge.

"We can go around. To the east."

"But that would take us out of the path of the Chalices." She reminded him.

Jack did not want to admit it but she was right. Yet, he tried to play it off as he turned to face her and the rest of the party that was not so far behind. "Aye, well, then we circle back."

Angelica lifted a single eyebrow at him and turned to Artemis, who had been quiet since the coffin fiasco.

"Do we have enough time?" she asked her since she was the one. who had foretold Blackbeard's death.

The redhead glanced from Angelica to Jack, the latter mentally praying that she would follow along his plan. However, he didn't know the details of her latest dream. She had told Jack that Blackbeard would die before he finished the ritual, or at least get stabbed in the back.

But, that had taken place while he was holding the chalice and was clearly about to perform the ritual. Which meant, that going around or taking more time was not an option. They had to move and let fate unfold, as it was shown in her vision.

She sent a silent apologetic look at Jack and then turned to the only other woman in the group. "We don't," she said.

Jack, not fully understanding why, chose not to go down so easily. "Well, you insisted on bringing a mermaid," he said, passively pointing a finger.

Angelica glared at him. "The mutiny didn't help –"

"You walk like a girl –"

"You would know –"

As the two of them bickered, with Jack taking pleasure in pressing the different buttons of his ex; her father did not seem to share their humour. Instead, he started to pace up and down like a caged wild animal; clearly debating something in his mind.

"Someone must go." He finally said, making everyone look at him.

"You mean split up?" Angelica questioned.

Artemis, on the other hand, felt bile forming at the back of her throat. "He means jump" she pointed out, clearly seeing right through him.

Jack smirked and took a step back. "This I cannot wait to see."

And yet, this small moment was ruined when the powerful and sadistic captain turned to him. "Sparrow will go, find the ship, and retrieve the Chalices."

"Jack? What makes you think he will come back?" Angelica asked, taking a few steps towards him. "We cannot trust him, Father. I'll go.

Blackbeard turned to look at Jack. "How much farther to the Fountain?"

"A day's march north, following that river, until you reach a series of pools. Then you're close."

The captain plucked the Compass out of Jack's hand and tossed it towards Artemis, who caught it mid-air; surprised.

"You will go." He told him.

Jack moved towards the edge and looked at the long drop-down. "You know that feeling you get, sometimes, standing in a high place, a sudden urge to jump? I'm not feeling that." He said but his answer was one of Blackbeard's pistols aimed directly at him.

"I need those Chalices."

"Shoot. Save me the bother of the fall"

This made Blackbeard consider, while not so far away, that Artemis was clearly sending daggers at Jack for chasing his luck.

Suddenly, the captain moved his pistol over to Angelica. "You will go, and you will return, or I will kill her."

Jack knew he would do it, he could see it clear as day. And yet, because it was Jack we talked about, he decided to give it yet another try.

"You would not kill your own daughter." He pointed out.

It seemed to make Blackbeard conflicted while Angelica looked at him with the same scared look a little girl would give him. Getting tired of this game, he turned his pistol at Artemis; shocking everyone.

"Perhaps you are right, but I can kill her" he said and pulled back the hammer of his pistol, his hand not once shaking while the barrel was pointed directly at her heart.

Artemis looked at Blackbeard surprised, not expecting something like that from him. More than once he had made sure to show that he needed her and most specifically her gifts. Although, with him getting to the fountain and gaining immortality; it would make sense that he would discard her sooner or later.

She did not blink nor show any fear, but her eyes did involuntarily glance at Jack; passively asking for some help.

Jack tried to take a step forward but stopped, clearly fighting with himself on what to do. He looked with worried eyes at Artemis, having lost all of his confidence in himself and his smooth talking; something that Blackbeard noticed.

For the man might be of certain age but he was no fool. He had been watching the two of them ever since Jack stepped onto his ship and caused a mutiny. He had seen the way the two of them exchanged glances and the way Jack would look at her when she thought no one else was paying attention.

Those two harboured feelings for one another, Jack more strongly than she did; or at least that what he had seen. The witty Sparrow could act as much as he wanted, fool everyone but he would never be able to fool the Mighty Blackbeard.

"Quartermaster. Take seven pistols. Remove the shot in all but two. Do not tell me which two." He ordered and along with that, handed him his own pistol.

Everyone was quiet, none daring to speak a word as the tension and the stress were becoming thicker and thicker all around them. The Quartermaster set seven pistols in a line on a rock shelf, having left only two of them with bullets and the rest having been emptied.

Blackbeard, then, led Jack towards the pistols. "Choose one." He ordered him.

Jack glanced at them and picked one. While many thought it was a random choice, Jack chose it because he knew to whom it belonged. It was the old pistol that Artemis carried for many years, one he had seen on her many times during their latest reunions.

Blackbeard took it without hesitation, pointed it at Artemis and surprisingly, pulled the trigger. The familiar 'click' sound of an empty bullet chamber was heard and our heroes felt themselves releasing a silent breath of relief.

Jack being Jack, though, had to chase his luck and act on his impulsive thoughts once again. "Please. None of them are loaded" he said and picked one pistol, before pointing it at a tree. However, when he pulled the trigger; it actually fired. Shaking away the initial shock, Jack left the pistol on the rock self and turned to Blackbeard. "If you're so willing to kill her, let her jump."

"If you jump and die, then I will see she gets her chance." Was his only reply and picked up another pistol.

Panicking, Jack turned to the Quartermaster. He seemed like a wise fellow, perhaps he could help him make a decision.

"You. If I jump. Will I survive?" he asked him, his brown eyes pleading for a good answer.

The zombified officer simply walked over to Angelica and took the Voddoo doll from her. He moved to the edge and threw the doll over, earning a loud shout of shock from Jack that actually lasted for a few seconds.

"Yes. Now, you will survive." The Quartermaster told him, once Jack stopped shouting.

Artemis had moved closer to the edge, glancing at where the doll disappeared too. Being away from Blackbeard's hands was a good thing but risking falling on someone else's was perhaps even worse.

She ignored Angelica, who had started to remove her coat and was about to jump but focused on the passing blur that jumped instead. With a war cry, Jack started to run and actually leapt into the space below.

The redhead placed her hands in front of her mouth in utter shock, no longer being able to hide her emotions or her thoughts. She glanced down, her heart beating faster than ever and only when Jack's face broke through the surface; did she allow herself to breathe.

It had been a few hours since Jack had jumped into the chasm, sent to retrieve the chalices for Blackbeard. All those hours, Artemis' thoughts were racing nonstop, her worry for him growing with each passing hour.

She knew if there was anyone, who would be able to survive and succeed on this mission, was Jack but she still could not help but worry. She damn loved that damn and now that she somehow had gotten him back, she could not dare to lose him.

Her hands went to her chest and neck, an old habit of grabbing her shell necklace for some comfort. However, the necklace had been taken by Blackbeard after the mutiny; clearly wanting to remind her not to try anything while she worked with Jack over the charts.

She thought back to the pistol aimed at her face, finally being clear that her time was not only burrowed but running out. If Blackbeard was so keen to see her dead before finishing the ritual, it made her wonder how much useful would she still be to him upon him drinking the scared waters.

The sound of someone stumbling and then glass breaking made her snap out of her thoughts and quickly whip her head towards the source of it. One of the men carrying the coffin made a misstep and ended up falling, causing the coffin to break upon fall.

The saltwater spread along with the mermaid, who lay upon the soft green grass. Her tail flipped a few times before it started to transform, soon taking the form of human legs. Everyone stared at her and the woman quickly brought her legs closer to her naked body, trying to cover her shaking form.

Philip moved fast, tossing their shirt and draping it over her body.

The Quartermaster did not seem to care about that. "Walk" he ordered, staring down at her.

Slowly, she started to rise and stand; her legs shaking like a newborn colt. She managed to take a single step before she fell to her knees, unable to continue. Her right foot had been scarred, injured from when Philip had stabbed her tail the night before.

"I cannot." The woman said, clearly trying.

Annoyed, the Quartermaster glanced at the very front where Blackbeard was waiting and then got his whip out. "You will walk," he said and lifted his leather weapon, ready to strike her until she obeyed.

He brought his hand down and the sound of a whip hitting against something echoed so loudly, it scared a few birds away from their trees. The woman had closed her eyes but never felt the pain and only when she opened them, did she see why.

Artemis had moved between them and had lifted her dominant hand. The whip had hit her lower arm, successfully breaking through her coat and shit, damaging her skin. It had also wrapped around it but the redhead had not even flinched at the hit.

Instead, she glared with mismatched eyes at the zombified officer; challenging him to try and move. "You will not touch her," she said in a heavy and serious voice, her threat clear as the sky above them behind her every word.

The Quartermaster did not seem to be affected and simply pulled the whip back. He lifted it above his head, ready to strike her again until she moved out of the way when Blackbeard interfered.

He had expected all of this to be dealt with quickly but it seemed only to take far longer than it should. Knowing his time was almost over, he marched their way.

"Enough of this. You" he turned to the mermaid, ignoring Artemis that still stood in front of her. "Walk, or die."

Right then, Philip stepped forward and knelt next to the mermaid. "Put your arms around me."

"I do not ask for help." The woman spat back, clearly feeling betrayed since he was the reason she had been captured.

"But you need it."

Defeated, she slowly moved her arms around him. Their moves were awkward and tentative. Once she was secure, he stood up; successfully lifting her and holding her in his arms. Once he turned, he found Blackbeard glaring at him.

"We are in a hurry. Yes?"

The Captain started to walk again. "Don't fall behind."