The Captain's Treasure

Cursed Pirates, Keeping to the Code, Revealing Secrets

Isla de Muerta

In the boat Charlotte is peering in to the water while Jack rows and Will keeps watch. In the pool below she can see piles of discarded gold and several skeletons and she shivers in the cold air of the cave. "What Code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?" Will asks.

"Pirate's Code. Any man what falls behind, is left behind." Jack admits. Lizzy would have known that, she thinks to herself.

"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" Will scoffs.

"You know, for having such a bleak outlook on pirates you're well on your way to becoming one." Will frowns at Jacks words. "Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the Fleet, helped the Governors daughter run away, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga, and you're completely obsessed with treasure." Both men are staring at the gold coins just below the water.

"That's not true. I am not obsessed with treasure." Will disagrees as they beach the boat.

Jack leads them through the cavern and they can see Elizabeth standing at the top of a small mountain of gold next to a stone chest, wearing a deep maroon ball gown of all things! Will gazes at her longingly and Charlotte turns to Jack to ask what the plan is to find him looking at her with an near identical expression. "Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."

They can hear Barbossa ranting in the background as they make their way towards where Elizabeth stands looking terrified but determined.

Barbossa is speaking to the pirate crew. "Punished, we were. The lot of us - disproportionate to our crimes! Here it is" he throws off the chest's lid revealing it is full of coins identical to the one around Elizabeth's neck. "The cursed treasure of Cortes himself. Every last piece that went astray, we have returned save for this." He points to the medallion on Elizabeth's neck.

"Jack!" Will moves to go to Elizabeth but Jack pulls him back.

"Not yet. We wait for the opportune moment."

"When's is that? When it's of greatest profit to you?" Charlotte rolls her eyes at the both of them, now is not the time! While they are distracted she slips away.

"May I ask you something? Have I ever given you reason not to trust me? Do us a favor? I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here and try not to do anything... stupid... Where is Charlotte?"

Barbossa yells to the assembled pirates, "And who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?"

"Us!" They respond.

"And whose blood must yet be paid?"

The pirates all point to Elizabeth. "Hers!"

"You know the first thing I'm going to do after the curse is lifted? Eat a whole bushel of apples." He leers at Elizabeth, "Begun by blood, by blood undone."

Will and Jack are searching for Charlotte but Will sees a discarded oar laying nearby and sneaks up on the Captain to hit him over the head, knocking him out. "Sorry, Jack. I'm not going to be your leverage."

Charlotte has slipped into the water and is hiding behind the mountain of gold watching as Barbossa snatches the medallion from Elizabeth's neck and her palm is cut.

"That's it?" She asks shocked.

Barbossa grins at her "Waste not." And forces her to drop the medallion.

"Did it work?" One of the pirates demands.

"I don't feel no different."

Barbossa rolls his eyes and pulls out his pistol and shoots one of the Pirates, possibly the fat one who had helped originally kidnap Elizabeth.

"You're not dead."

"No. He shot me!"

Barbossa turns to Elizabeth angrily, "You, maid! Your father, what was his name? Was your father William Turner?"

"No." Elizabeth replies defiantly.

"Where's his child? The child that sailed from England eight years ago, the child in whose veins flows the blood of William Turner."

Elizabeth refuses to answer. "Where?" Barbossa backhands her viciously and she falls down the back of the pile of treasure. Charlotte sneaks up to cover Elizabeth's mouth with her hand and motion for her to follow her sister into the water. Elizabeth snatches the medallion to take with her.

They have almost reached the boat when they find Will throwing all of the oars into the water. He sees the girls and rushes to hug them both and then leads them to the boat.

"Will, where is Captain Sparrow?"

"It's all part of the plan Charlotte, into the boat." Will assures her.

Something is wrong, Charlotte can feel it but she has her sister back and she trusts Jacks plan so she climbs in the boat with Will and Elizabeth.

Will rows them back to the Interceptor and the two sister hold each other close even as Will suspects Charlotte might not forgive him...

Elizabeth boards the Interceptor to be greeted by the crew, "Not more pirates."

Charlotte reaches for her sisters hand and squeezes it. "it's all right, their good pirates."

"Welcome aboard, Miss Elizabeth." Greets Gibbs.

"Mr. Gibbs?" she asked shocked.

"I had the same reaction! It's a long story" Charlotte smiles at her sister and Elizabeth is mollified for a moment.

Will climbs aboard and Gibbs asks. "Hey, boy, where be Jack?"

"Jack? Jack Sparrow?" Elizabeth demands,

"Will, where is Captain Sparrow, you said it was part of the plan?" Charlotte asks.

Will looks guiltily at his oldest and dearest friend and with his eyes he begs her forgiveness, "He fell behind." Will tells Gibbs and leads Elizabeth away.

"Keep to the code." Gibbs tells the crew and they begin to weigh anchor. Gibbs walks to Charlottes side where she is silently looking back towards the cursed island and he gently takes her hand as the tears start to slip down her cheeks.

.....

In the cabin of the Interceptor Will is bandaging Elizabeth's hand and they have a moment where they almost kiss but first Elizabeth knows she has to be honest with Will about what has truly caused all the trouble.

She takes out medallion "It's yours."

Will looks at the bit of gold in wonder, "I thought I'd lost it the day they rescued me. It was a gift from my father. He sent it to me. Why did you take it?"

Elizabeth looks at him with big scared eyes, "Because I was afraid that you were a pirate. That would have been awful."

"It wasn't your blood they needed. It was my father's blood? my blood? the blood of a pirate." Will realizes.

Elizabeth whispers, "Will, I'm so sorry, please forgive me." Will slams down the medallion on the table and she leaves brushing by Charlotte as she stands in the door way having heard the last of the conversation. Will can see she has been crying, there are still smudges on her face from them.

"Lottie?" he begins.

"Don't!!!" She yells at him, "How could you Will?"

"It was him or Elizabeth!" Will insists.

"I don't believe that." Charlotte tells him and he looks down guiltily, but then he glares back at her.

"What is going on in you're head Miss Swann?" He asks meanly, sounding exactly like her father or Norrington. "After all, there can't be any sort of future there, he is just a pirate."

"Apparently, so are you." She replies coldly and turns to find her sister.