The Commodore forced nearly everyone to the longboats as we approached the Black Pearl at the entrance of Isla de Muerta. I was stuck in the boat with Norrington, two guards, and Jack. There was a thick fog in the air, with the night sky over our heads.

"I don't care for the situation," Commodore said while putting away his spyglass. "Any attempt to storm the caves can turn into an ambush."

"Not if you're the one doing the ambushing," Jack pointed out. "I go in and convince Barbossa to send his men out with their little boats, you and your mates return to the Dauntless and blast the bejeezus out of them with your little cannons. What do you have to lose?"

Commodore said, "nothing I'd lament being rid of."

"Now, to be quite honest with you, there's still a risk to those aboard the Dauntless, which includes the future Mrs. Commodore," Jack said.

"What are you doing?" I asked him softly, but he ignored me.

Instead, he asked, "how's about coming with me, love?"

I smiled slightly and said, "absolutely I do."

We were soon given our own longboat and Jack effortlessly rowed us through the cave of Isla de Muerta as the Dauntless continued to drift in the lagoon.

"After this, you'll owe me a big bottle of rum," Jack said as he rowed.

"I owe you?" I asked as I took my hat off and gathered my hair into my hat in an attempt to avoid getting detected by Barbossa. "How?"

"'Cause I am doing all the rowing."

I laughed, "and you kidnap me. I think we are even like a Steven."

"Oh, right," he chuckled. I felt my heart leap when he smiled. "I forgot."

The familiar chanting of "blood! Blood! Blood!" Echoed through the cave, which halted our conversation. Jack and I were quick to hop off the longboat and run through the crowd.

"Beg your pardon," Jack said as he pushed past the pirates with one hand on me, gripped at the wrist so we wouldn't lose each other. "Excuse us."

"By blood and..." Barbossa called out from the gold mountain. His speech was stopped when he saw us. It was a familiar sight, except Will was leaning over the chest of gold instead of Elizabeth.

"Annette! Jack!" Will exclaimed contently.

"It's not possible," Barbossa mumbled, clearly dismayed and shocked to see us.

"Not probable," Jack corrected as we continued to sneak through the pirates to get closer to the mountain of gold.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Will asked.

"She's safe, just like I promised," Jack reassured.

Will looked at me concerned and I nodded, "he's telling the truth."

"She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised, and you get to die for her just like you promised. And Annette will give me rum, just like she promised. So we're all men of our word, really. Except for Elizabeth and Annie, who are, in fact, women," Jack concluded candidly.

"Shut up! You're next!" Barbossa snarled. He leaned Will forward over the gold and placed his stone knife along the mans throat. A few of Barbossa's men seized me and Jack, gripping our arms to hold us back.

"You don't want to be doing that, mate," Jack said cunningly.

"No, I really think I do," Barbossa said, turning his attention back to Will.

"Your funeral," Jack said apathetically, grabbing his wrist in front of him with a shrug.

"Jack," I muttered under my breath. I wished he would tell me what he was thinking, because he is hard for me to read. And I like to think I am good at reading people.

I could see Barbossa roll his eyes before the curiously overcame him and he turned to Jack, "why don't I want to be doing it?"

"Oh, because..." Jack said, beginning to climb up the mountain, but a pirates hand was still on his shoulder. Jack looked down at the hand, and slapped it away. The pirate, confused, let him go and let Jack climb the gold, "because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore, waiting for you."

A buzz of apprehension swept through the pirates. My eyes widened at Jack's double crossing plan. Was he planning on telling me, or was I just a pawn in his game? I should have expected nothing less from a pirate, and this proved that I should not trust him. He was just like the rest of them; sleazy, discourteous, and a liar.

"Connard," I muttered under my breath. I jerked under the grasp of the pirate holding me, but he wouldn't let me move.

"Just hear me out, mate," Jack continued with Barbossa, "you order your men to row out to the Dauntless. They do what they do best. Robert's your uncle, Fannie's your aunt. There you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. Of course, you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue? But what of the Pearl? Name me Captain. I'll sail under your colors. I'll give you ten percent of me plunder, and you get to introduce yourself as Commodore Barbossa. Savvy?"

Barbossa looked down to me and said, "what about him?"

"If you would be so kind as to please remove your hat, please," Jack commanded, flicking his wrist in my direction.

I tried to reach up to remove my hat, but my arm was held down by a pirate. I scrunched my eyebrows together and looked at him, and instead of letting me go, he picked my hat off my head for me and tossed it away. My hair cascaded down, and chattering amongst the pirates began and Barbossa made them cease.

"You!" He growled at me, instantly recognizing me. I gave him a nervous smile.

"I plan to anoint her as me second in command," Jack said, "having a Levasseur under your colors... we would be unstoppable, mate."

I exhaled slowly, starting to relish this plan. Perhaps I was a little too harsh on Jack, but there was still a chance that he would double-cross me if he thought he could undermine the British Navy who was floating just outside in the lagoon.

Barbossa nodded and said, "I suppose, in exchange, you wanted me not to kill the whelp."

Will jumped and looked fearfully at Barbossa.

"No, no, no, it's all by all means, kill the whelp. Just not yet. Wait to lift the curse... until the opportune moment," Jack said, looking between Will and down at me when he said the last words slowly. Will glared at Jack, intently listening to every word he said. I was satisfied to finally understand him for once.

Jack looked into the Aztec gold chest and grabbed a handful. "For instance, after you've killed Norrington's men. Every... last... one," he dropped a coin in one-by-one, after every word he said.

The crew began cackling, agreeing with the bargain that Jack was proposing. I looked down at Jack's hand, and noticed that he kept one of the gold coins in his hand, hiding it with his palm until he slipped it somewhere, and wiggled his fingers discretely. I didn't see where it went, but I didn't hear him drop it.

I looked up at Will, who noticed it too. He said, "you've been planning this from the beginning, ever since you learned my name."

Jack raised his eyebrows and replied callously, "yeah."

Barbossa stood up straight, "I want 50% of your plunder."

"There's two of us and one of you. Fifteen!" Jack frowned.

"Forty," Barbossa said.

"Twenty-five," Jack argued. Barbossa looked intrigued so Jack added, "I'll buy you a hat. A really big one. Commodore."

Barbossa licked his flaky lips as he smiled, "we have an accord," and shook his hand.

"All hands to the boats!" Jack announced to the crew with a grand gesture. He stopped himself and said to Barbossa in a low voice, "my apologies. You give the orders."

Barbossa looked happy about this new arrangement. He turned to his crew and said, "gents, take a walk!"

The pirates began dispersing, letting me go and headed off. I looked around as they all escaped the cave. Did they have their own agenda?

Jack leaned to Barbossa with his expression faltering and asked, "not to the boats?"

"Where are they going?" I asked, watching them walk off into the water, disappearing under the surface. "What are they doing?"

Before long, it was just a few of us left in the cave. The moonlight shined down in holes of the cave, illuminating it and the gold beautifully. Every pirates dream. It distracted me from the main reason we were in the cave.

Jack made his way over to me while examining the treasure and asked in an incredibly low voice, "how decent are you about fighting the dead?"

"I haven't had the pleasure," I said rather sarcastically.

"Do you believe in ghost stories, love?"

"Not particularly," I said, "Le Victorieux is a no nonsense boat."

"Fantasies are true, darling."

"What?" I asked.

"You best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Levasseur, you're in one," he said so close to my ear. My lips parted and I felt shivers travel down my spine.

"I know men on many drugs that make more sense than you," I whispered back. I knew about how Barbossa and his crew were unable to die, but I did not understand what Jack was talking about. What was his plan?

"That's because I only understand about twenty-percent of what goes on around here," he said.

"Shocker," I said sarcastically. 

Jack and I went our separate ways as we continued looking at the bountiful treasure. As Jack was admiring some of the treasure in the main cavern, I was standing on the other side, inspecting a sword that was buried under the gold. I turned to face them when I heard Barbossa say to Jack, "I must admit, Jack, I thought I had you figured, but it turns out you're a hard man to predict."

"Me? I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest," he said as he tossed a golden statue and it clambered against other objects in the cave as he walked toward Barbossa.

Jack continued, "honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for. Because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly stupid."

Locking eyes, he smoothly drew a sword out of the scabbard from a pirate he was behind and kicked him into the water. He tossed the sword to Will, who caught it with his hands tied together despite his surprise and escaped the clutches of the pirate holding him. Jack grabbed a sword that was at his feet and tossed it to me. Then, he dove into the treasure, grabbing another one.

I ran to Will and cut his ropes as he was dodging a pirate near him. I hadn't fought with a sword in a while, and I used to be the best on the Victorieux due to my energy, not necessarily my experience. I felt a slash on my back, and I felt a sharp, thin stinging sensation across my shoulder blades. I turned around and I was face to face with one of Barbossa's men. My back was stinging, and I could feel my shirt sticking to my back as the blood dribbled out of my cut, but I didn't let the pain take over. The three of us had our own multiple opponents, and I used my skills of disarming my opponents, my lightning fast reflexes, acrobatics, and utilizing anything within reach to survive.

I heard screaming behind me, and when I turned around it was a pirate yelling and lifting up his sword as he ran in my direction. He stepped into the moonlight, revealing himself to be a zombie. His previously fresh face was rotting, and I could see his white bones as his dead flesh dripped off. My previous expression of fierceness and determination was quickly replaced with fear as I shrieked in terror, and stumbled back and fell onto some sharp rocks. I winced at the pain, and the pirate took advantage of my disadvantage, and tried to stab me. I blocked it with my sword just in time, straining to push him off. I managed to lift my legs up and kick with all my force at his knee, causing his bone to dislocate at the joint and made him topple over into the water.

"Did you figure the curse out, Annie?" Jack asked me as he continued to fight Barbossa on the other side of the cave.

My back was sore, but I stood up and looked around. My eyes opened to all the pirates who turned into zombies whenever the moonlight hit them. How did I not see it before? And why did no one tell me?

"Uh-huh," I said, dodging a slash of sword and turned around to fight against another zombie pirate. "I wish it wasn't a surprise!"

"What's the fun in that?!" Was his response.

Once I pushed another zombie pirate into the water, I looked up to see Barbossa and Jack fighting on the other side of the cave. Barbossa had dropped his sword purposely as Jack stood in front of him.

"You can't beat me, Jack," Barbossa said, his voice amplified from the echo.

I watched Jack jerk forward and he stabbed him with his sword. Jack took a step back and Barbossa had no reaction, just a simple sigh. I was used to the undead thing by now, so this didn't phase me. However, in the blink of an eye, Barbossa quickly took the sword out of his ribs and spun it into Jack's chest, impaling him.

"Jack!" I shouted, starting to run towards them. I jumped over a little pool of water and rushed over the rocks as quick as I could. They were on the other side of the cave, and I felt my heart drop to my stomach. My hands were shaking like a jellyfish, and my jaw was frozen open in horror.

I watched in dismay as Jack was horrified at seeing the sword impaled through his chest. The point of the blade came out of his back, covered in sickening dark blood. I was almost to him when he stumbled back into the moonlight, revealing to have been taken under the curse as well. I froze, my eyes widened as he inspected his skeleton fingers. His chest was completely bare, showing only his ribs, and his clothes were now tattered and torn.

"That's interesting," Jack joked. Over his shoulder he called out to me, "don't you worry about me, love."

"I was not," I defended. I tried not to think about why I felt so strongly about Jack dying. I haven't known him for long, but he crept into my heart in a way that no man has before. There was just something about him that I couldn't help but admire... but I didn't fancy him.

Even Will stopped to stare. Jack took the Aztec coin that was hidden in his pocket and started rolling it between his fingers, clattering with every joint. "I couldn't resist, mate."

Yelling caused me to turn around and get back to my main goal. I spun around and locked eyes with the pirate coming my way. He suddenly froze and his eyes darted down, and without thinking I looked down at well. My loose shirt had moved and my breast was exposed. Instead of getting embarrassed, I used this to my advantage. I smirked and sliced my sword through his neck while he was distracted. When I pushed him out of the way and readjusted my shirt, another came after me. He grabbed onto my blade, ripping it out of my hands and tossing it out of my reach.

"Merde," I grunted. As a fruitless attempt to escape, I scurried up the gold mountain, hoping that the bones in his feet had no leverage in climbing.

Alas, I was wrong. I was cornered, and the only way down was to jump into the shallow waters below. The pirate had an vile scowl on his face as he began cocking his arm back, and I only had a moment to decide what to do to save myself. Inspired by Jack, I grabbed a coin from the chest just in time for the skeleton to jab me with the sword into my stomach. My flesh squelched, and I almost became nauseous.

I gasped, my stomach was tightening as my body tried to comprehend the feeling of the blade. It was strange and foreign, but not necessarily painful. My chest moved up and down quickly as I looked down at the sword that was sticking through my torso. Just seeing a blade skewer all the way through me was terrifying and disgusting enough. I could accurately say that it felt like nothing. Not cold, not painful... nothing. But it definitely felt like it didn't belong in my body. Almost like a fresh ear piercing.

"Annie!" Jack yelled. My head snapped in his direction and I saw Barbossa knock him to the ground.

"Don't worry about me, mon amour. I couldn't resist," I quoted him. I looked up at the pirate who stabbed me, and he was astounded that I didn't die. I grunted as I tackled him in my anger. My momentum launched us off the gold mountain and we flew through the air before he landed on some rocks in the moonlight. He broke apart and his bones started floating away from each other in the water.

I paused to take a quick breath before I slipped the coin into my pocket and rolled over into the moonlight. I felt nothing. Not the cut across my back, not my clothes on my body, and not even any humidity in the air. I propped myself onto my elbow and looked down, seeing my clothes were also tattered and the sword was still sticking through my bare ribs. I gripped the handle of the sword, and slowly pulled it out of my skeleton body. I saw my reflection in the blade, and I was alarmed by my face. My previous tanned complexion was now dripping off my skull, and the only thing about myself that I recognized were my eyes. My blown pupil was still there, and I found comfort in my hazel eye. I stood up and ducked as another zombie pirate was coming at me. I blocked his strike, and I continued the battle.

"How are you doing, Monsieur Turner?" I asked Will. My dueling lead me to where he was fighting against two of the zombies. Out of the moonlight, I was back to my fleshy self and my clothes were once again back to normal.

"Just fine!" Will called out.

I pulled out my pistol and mercilessly fired it at the undead pirates, but my attempts were fruitless. No amount of bullets could take them down. It doesn't even disturb them anymore, so I was quick to give it up and put it away.

I looked up to check on Jack, and he was frantically running away from Barbossa, flailing his arms in the process.

Suddenly, Elizabeth came into action, wielding a gold stick of some kind that she must have found amongst the treasure. It was excellent for blocking the blows of the swords. I went along side her and Will, going back to back to back, ensuring that none of the zombie pirates hurt the other.

"Has you fought before now, Elizabeth?" I asked, thrashing my blade toward a pirate that began to circle around us.

She was silent for a second before blocking another blow and answered, "no."

"Super," I mumbled under my breath.

We broke apart from our circle, and I stabbed two zombies together with my sword. Elizabeth and Will came up behind me with their giant stick and stuck it through the two, plus one more that was in the way.

"Good thinking." I nodded and pulled my sword out. We stuck a bomb into the middle zombie's stomach and we pushed them out of the light, ensuring that the explosion would be lethal once the curse was lifted. They exploded and their flesh flew everywhere.

Knowing that Barbossa was the last pirate to defeat, I raced to the chest where I had to put my coin. I took out my sword and I effortlessly cut my palm, coating the gold piece in my red blood and I dropped it into the chest.

I squatted down behind the chest and locked eyes with Jack, who was dueling Barbossa right by the mountain. He brought his sword down to his palm, gripping the blade and quickly slicing it, creating a deep gash before going after Barbossa once again. He got closer and closer to the mountain and he threw the bloody gold piece to me. I caught it with one hand and dropped it in the chest.

Barbossa, unaware of Jack's aim, pointed his gun toward Elizabeth, who stood nearby on a rock. A gun shot echoed through the cave. My heart was pounding from the suspense. I looked at Barbossa's gun, expecting it to have gone off. My attention was immediately brought to Jack's, where gun power flew up in his face. The barrel was aimed at Barbossa.

Will came up behind me, and I gave him my sword. He cut his palm and handed it back. He whispered, "I'm waiting for the opportune moment."

We both looked at the two pirates as Barbossa chuckled, "ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot."

"He didn't waste it," Will called out. He stood over the Aztec gold chest with his hand in a fist. He dropped his bloody coin into the chest, ending the curse once and for all.

I immediately felt warm, as if my blood began circulating in my body again. I could taste the tang of a mango that I ate this morning that still coated my tongue. The pain from the cut I obtained at the beginning of the battle across my back once again stung. I brought my hands up to my shirt and rubbed the soft fabric between my fingers. Relief waved over me, and I exhaled contently.

Barbossa frowned as he opened his coat to notice the blood blossoming around the bullet hole, spreading quickly. He looked up at Jack, and I could see that his face was registering pain that he had not felt in years. He said weakly, "I feel... cold," before falling back into the mountain of treasure, and dropping the green apple he was so eager to eat. I looked down at his cold, dead eyes. He was gone.

Will jumped off the mountain of treasure and reunited with Elizabeth. Jack walked up to the mountain and he grabbed my waist to assist me down. I put my hands on his shoulders to stabilize myself as he lowered me down on the ground effortlessly.

"Are you all right?" He asked once I landed on my feet.

"Oui," I nodded, looking up at him with a grin that would not go away. I blamed it on being joyful that we won. I looked down so he wouldn't see, and I tip-toed around Barbossa's lifeless body. The cut on my palm was beginning to sting, and I tried to wipe the blood off on my pants.

Jack took my hand and held it delicately in his. I did not pull away, and he crouched down and pulled me with him. He kept a hold of my hand and brought it down to the cold water that ran through the cave and gently washed the blood off my palm. It burned for just a moment before the pain subsided.

"Thank you," I said kindly.

Jack dipped his fingers in the crystal clear water then looked back up at me. "You've got some blood on your lip," he told me. He slid his thumb across my bottom lip gently to get the blood off, but it slowed to a stop. His thumb lingered on my lip, and didn't leave. My breath quickened. Jack's face shifted from calm to concearned and he brought his hand down as he asked, "what's become of your back?"

I twisted my head around, as if I could see the cut across my shoulders. The physics of the attempt were impossible. I only caught a glimpse of the blood that stained the white fabric of my shirt. I quickly gave up and said, "it's just a flesh wound."

"I'll wash the blood off," he offered cheekily but I turned him down. I was not going to take my shirt off for him... not yet. We stood up together and he asked, "who did this to you?"

I glanced over at the numerous bodies that littered the cave and answered, "one of them."

Jack sighed, and he once again brought his fingers up to tuck some of my hair out of my face. I felt my throat tighten and goosebumps that prickled at his warm touch. He muttered, "I'd kill him if he wasn't already dead."

I smiled tenderly at Jack. I did not realize he felt so strongly. I said back, "looks like I beat you to it."

"That's a bonny lass. Now come, let's rummage through this cave," he said.

He guided me to the edge of the cave by placing his hand on the small of my back. We began looking at the statues and tossing them aside, admiring the gold that surrounded us. I had never seen so much treasure in one place in my life. I looked over at Jack, feeling content at his presence. Now that we have finished the quest, he could take me back home... but I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back home. I wanted to spend more time with him.

"Look at this one," I said to him and held up a gauntlet of gold I found. The gold glistened in the moonlight, and I admired the jewels.

He lifted his hand up and looked up at me and said, "I want that one."

He took it from my hands, but I wasn't going to stop him. My eyes drifted to the other magnificent treasures of the cave. How can I get all this treasure back to the ship?

During our search, I felt Jack tap my shoulder and brandished a ring in front of my face. He said, "maybe this ring can remind you of this diverting escapade we endured together."

I glanced down at my hands. I love rings, but I don't have nearly enough. I gave him my right hand, and he slid the ring on my finger gently. I admired the blue jewel, and knew that I would always look at it and think of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Jack draped himself in royal beads, placed a golden crown upon his head, and held the gauntlet. We noticed a conversation between Will and Elizabeth, and Jack excused himself to approach Will when Elizabeth walked away. I heard him say, "if you were waiting for the opportune moment... that was it."

I grabbed as much as I could shove into my pockets and walked up to Jack. He said to Will, "now, I'd be much obliged if you'd drop us off at our ship," as he swaggered off with me right by his side.

We left in the rowboat that Elizabeth came to us in, with Will rowing. Jack humorously kept the crown on his head. His humor was so subtle, but I felt that it was very similar to mine.

I ripped the long sleeve off my shirt at my elbow and tore it into thirds, handing a slice to Jack and Will to wrap our bloody, stinging palms. Elizabeth took over rowing as Will secured the cloth over his cut before taking back over.

"Immortality," Jack nodded, handing the cloth back to me and gave me his hand. "Doesn't sound too bad."

He rested the back of his large hand on my knee and I reluctantly started to wrap the fabric around his cut. I pointed out, "they really wanted to end it."

"It's better than what is to come to us," Jack muttered. He longingly gazed out to where the Black Pearl had been when we arrived. It was taken from him, yet again.

Elizabeth looked back and said, "I'm sorry, Jack."

Jack exhaled, "they done what's right by them. Can't expect more than that."

"What?" I asked, looking up at Jack through my dark eyelashes. Jack looked back at me gravely, his silence was enough response for me. The Black Pearl was gone, and there was no where for us to go but straight to the gallows. "Oh."

"Aye," Jack grumbled.

I tied the fabric into a knot around Jack's hand, and his idea to comfort me was to put his palm against on my knee and hold me there. But I wanted it higher. I wanted him to grip my thigh. I wanted him to explore me like I was his next adventure. I just wanted to be loved by him for my last night alive. Maybe in another lifetime.

"Your turn, darling," Jack said when I began to wrap the cloth around my own hand.

"Now you want to be a gentleman?" I asked sarcastically.

Jack took my hand and snapped with the same amount of attitude, "I'm always a gentleman."

He gingerly wrapped the linen cloth around my palm, and used his fingers to delicately twist the ends into a knot. He bent down and bit on one of the ends, looked up at me, and pulled the knot tight. My fist tightened while I exhaled, unable to let me eyes leave Jack's. He slowly sat back up, but he kept his hand holding mine.

We glumly rowed back to the ship, knowing that this was our last night being pirates. By this time tomorrow, we are to set sail with the grand ship in the sky.

AN: what is your favorite sea creature?
Mine are dolphins! They are incredibly smart and beautiful!