Part One of a Very Long Angsty Post
PART ONE:
---TWO DAYS LATER – WILL’S SHIP – CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS--
(Will is seated at his desk, a worried frown on his face. There is a knock at the door.)
Will: Enter. (the door opens and James walks in)
James: I need to speak with you, Will.
Will: I know. I wanted to speak to you too. Please sit. (he waits until James is seated) You want to talk about my…destiny.
James: Will –
Will: (gets up, begins pacing.) I didn’t want this.
James: (hesitates) Tia told me that you could be a danger to us. I want to know what your ‘destiny’ is.
Will: (looks out the window) To become the next captain of the Dutchman.
James: (shakes head in denial) I don’t believe that. Tia is just trying to use you to get what she wants, although I’ll be damned if I know what that is right now.
Will: Is it so far-fetched? Look at how many shipwrecks I’ve survived. When I said that it should have been me instead of Marty, I meant it. I should have died then, but I didn’t. (bitterly) Of course, there IS another way.
James: (urgently) Will, tell me what’s going on. Tell me what you know.
Will: (throws himself down into the chair) I can destroy the heart with fire. (sighs) But I don’t know if I’m willing to do that.
James: Why not? I could help you.
Will: (suddenly angry) No you can’t. You can’t because this is my destiny and only I can fulfill it!
James: (holds up hands in calming manner) All right…you have to do it alone. But surely there’s something--
Will: There isn't anything! Don't you understand? (shoulders slump) I only have two choices. Become captain, or destroy the captain. My fate is tied to the Dutchman and it's captaincy, James. If I destroy the captain, then I have to destroy myself.
James: (sharply) No! You can’t do that. And what about Elizabeth?
Will: (obviously wrestling with his emotions) Elizabeth is strong. Although…
(Will seems to change before James’ eyes, the soft brown eyes growing hard, a bright, almost insane excitement bubbling beneath the surface.)
Will: I could stab the heart and make her come with me. We could be together, always.
James: Will! (Will glares at him) Get a hold of yourself, Captain Turner!
Will: (blinks, and suddenly he seems himself again) Damn. (bows head) I was warned that would happen. I can’t…I can’t let myself become like Jones, can I?
James: (gentle understanding) No…you can’t. There is no choice. I see that now.
(They sit in silence for a few moments. Will finally stirs and looks up at James.)
Will: There is something I could use your help with…
(An hour later James leaves Will’s cabin. He looks steady and stern, but as soon as he’s outside he leans against the wall and covers his eyes with his hand. He straightens when he hears footsteps, and to his horror, it’s Elizabeth. Unable to meet her questioning gaze, he mutters a brief greeting to her and goes to the longboat.)
Elizabeth: (shrugs) Men. (she enters Will’s cabin to see him seated with his head in his hands. She approaches him and he looks up at her, pulling her close to him with near desperation.)
Elizabeth: What’s wrong?
Will: Nothing. I’ve just missed you, that’s all.
(Elizabeth smiles and brushes a strand of hair away from his face, and kisses him passionately, her fingers working to unfasten the buttons of his shirt as the scene fades out.)
----
Part Two will be up soon.
Ah, I totally mucked up my shoulder yesterday after my long rambling post in another thread. Here is another, small portion of my post, and when I have a bit more time (I have to run to the chiropractor) I will post the rest later.
More Angst, a bit of Fluff. Enjoy!
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DAWN – CAPTAIN’S CABIN
(Will wakes and looks at Elizabeth beside him in bed. He watches her sleep for a moment, and toys with a strand of her hair, a small smile on his face. Gradually the smile fades and he leans down to kiss her lightly on the lips and gets out of bed, careful not to disturb her.
He dresses quietly, goes to his desk, and begins to write a letter. He finishes, puts it off to the side, and begins another one. All of the letters are brief, except for the final one, which he spends considerable time on. When he is finished, he carefully folds the last letter, and writes Elizabeth’s name on it. After a moments thought, takes his necklace off and wraps it around the parchment.)
Will: (softly) It’s time.
(Reluctantly, Will goes over to Elizabeth, and for a moment he looks as if he might wake her. Instead, he leans down and presses his lips to hers, a soft, lingering kiss. He stays for a few seconds longer, soaking in this moment, then finally he manages to pull himself away from his wife’s side and sets the letter and his necklace inside one of her boots. One last look, and then he’s gone.)
--
ON DECK – WILL’S SHIP
Will: (approaches James) Are you ready?
James: (grimly) No. Are you?
Will: (gallows humor) Always ready to die for a good cause. I’m too rash, remember? Here…(he holds out the other letters he’d written) Could you make sure that everyone gets these?
James: (reluctantly takes them) Only if you’re certain –
(Their eyes meet, and James sighs and dips his head.)
James: Tia is preparing to summon the Dutchman. She said it would take twenty minutes to a half hour. That gives you time to get to the Intrepid. I chose ten able-bodied lads. They know already how this is probably going to turn out.
Will: (stunned) You--They shouldn’t have done that. They have families.
James: No…no they don’t. No one is waiting for them, and they know what they’re getting into. This is their choice; don’t demean it by telling them it isn’t worth it. This is what they do.
Will: (can’t argue with that) Thank you, James. It's been an honor working with you.
(Will offers his hand, and James shakes it, a mixture of emotions on his face.)
James: The honor has been all mine, Will. I'm proud to have sailed this journey with you.
(Will spares one last glance toward the cabin, then he straightens and smiles, as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He looks ready now.)
Will: See you on the other side. Do your best to keep me waiting, aye?
James: (smiles back, nods) I'll try. Godspeed, Will.
(He helps Will to lower the longboat into the water, and watches him row away. When Will is nearly at the Intrepid, James goes belowdecks to Tia to buy Will more time.)
----
More to come later!
Going as fast as I can, love. I can't feel my fingers half the time and my arm's in a sling.
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A few notes:
Some new characters will be making brief appearances. No, you've never seen them before, and you won't see them again after this scene.
WARNINGS: Slightly graphic violence in this post. Also, multiple character deaths abound in this, so brace yourselves.
-----
The following was written by Surreal.
TWENTY MINUTES LATER – A LONGBOAT
(Will is seated at the head of the longboat. There are ten of Norrington’s sailors with him, and four barrels of gunpowder.)
Will: It’s not too late for you to go back.
Nathaniel: We’ve made our choice, as have you. (there is a murmur of assent from the others) We proudly follow you into battle.
Will: (nods, a small smile on his face) Then let us fight well.
(The Dutchman bursts from the water not so far away. Already, there are shouts of alarm from the other ships, and a call to battle stations.)
Mathias: ‘We who are about to die…’
Will: (takes a deep breath) We wait until they are engaged in combat. Then we give them hell.
(The men cheer as the scene fades out)
--
(The scene fades back in as Will and the men have just finished securing the longboat so that it sits against the Dutchman. The Intrepid and Will’s ship have made themselves major targets of the Dutchman, firing often and heavily at the ship to keep the focus on them.)
Will: Up to the balcony! Quickly!
(A grappling hook and rope are tossed up to the lowest balcony and secured. Will goes first, and the others quickly follow him up the rope. One man, Michael, remains behind, and begins to secure a fuse to the barrels of powder.)
Bootstrap: (pops out of the wall as Will and the others enter the ship from the balcony) Who goes there?
Will: (cautiously, stunned at how inhuman Bootstrap appears to be) Father?
Bootstrap: (squints, looks at Will, is shocked) Son? (excited) You’ve come back!
Will: I promised you, didn’t I? (urgently) Father, where’s the heart?
Bootstrap: What? (sudden understanding) It’s you…you’re the one Jones has been – No! Leave now, Will. I won’t allow this!
Will: (softly) I can’t. I have to find the heart and destroy it. It’s my destiny.
Boostrap: No!
(The men are getting restless, worried as time drags by.)
Will: (looks agonized, but then shakes his head) I don’t have time for this.
Bootstrap: (He goes to push past his father, but Bootstrap grabs his arm.) Wait. I can help. Just tell me what to do.
Will: (relieved) Take five of the men, get to the powder stores.
Bootstrap: You’re going to blow the ship.
Will: Yes. The Dutchman must be destroyed.
(Bootstrap pulls Will to him in a tight hug, trying to convey by this small action all that he can’t put into words. Will is the one to pull away after a brief time, an expression of regret on his face.)
Bootstrap: Mercer is in Jones’ cabin above. The heart is with him.
Will: Thank you, father.
(Will hurries off, four men trailing after him. Bootstrap brings the remaining five with him to the the lower levels of the deck.)
--
DUTCHMAN – JONES’ CABIN
(Will makes his way up to Jones’ cabin, Nathaniel, Timothy, Sam, and Vincent following him. Mercer wheels around.)
Mercer: Ah, Turner. We were expecting you.
(Four of Jones’ men come out of the hull of the ship.)
Sam: I had been hoping that you exaggerating how ugly these guys were.
Will: (grins faintly) Unfortunately, I wasn’t. I’ll get the heart.
(The four soldiers begin engaging Jones’ men, fighting skillfully against the undead pirates. With the pirates focused on them, they begin to fight more defensively, simply trying to deflect blows and dancing out of the way of the sea-encrusted weapons.)
Mercer: (fighting Will) You shouldn’t have come, Turner. Jones has been expecting you.
Will: Good to know. He and Tia Dalma are up to something. (he dodges a blow from Mercer and brings his sword up to deflect another.)
Mercer: The sea witch? (he barely manages to deflect a blow by Will.)
Will: The very same. (Mercer trips him and Will almost falls over, but he skillfully defends himself from a slash from Mercer’s sword. He uses his momentum to bring the sword up and slash Mercer across the chest.)
Mercer: (touches wound, then admiringly) Where did you learn that?
Will: (grunts as he is nicked in the right bicep by Mercer’s sword.) Trade secret. (grins, enjoying the battle with a worthy opponent) Would share it, and ask for pointers from you, but no time.
Mercer: (also enjoying the battle) So we’re all going to die? (spins around, blocking Will’s next thrust, and feints to the left. A rare smile crosses his face as Will doesn’t fall for the trick.)
Will: Pretty much. Why?
(He is surprised when tackles him to the floor – just in time to avoid having his head sliced off by one of Jones’ men. Mercer brings his sword up, defending Will from the crewmember while Will scrambles to his feet.)
Mercer: I would rather die by your hand, Turner, or kill you myself, but it seems we’ve run out of time.
(Nathaniel is dead, his throat slashed and his gut torn open. Sam is badly wounded but still fighting. Vincent and Timothy are battling more of Jones’ crew near the steps.)
Will: (begins fighting with Macchus) The heart?
Mercer: On the table. The key is in it.
Will: (slashes Macchus’ arm off, somersaults to the table and opens the chest.) Oh, that is disgusting…
(Sam goes down. He’s still alive but is unable to get back up. Mercer drives Kalineko back. Will grabs the heart and, not knowing what to do with it, puts in his coat pocket.)
--
CUT TO ON DECK OF THE DUTCHMAN
Jones: (has been shouting orders, but senses something is different) He’s here.
The following was written by Surreal and edited by ME: Willo! Begin theme music!
CUT TO… Will’s ship
(Elizabeth is startled awake by shouting and canon fire. She sits up in the bed and looks over to where Will should be, but he isn’t beside her. In fact, the cabin is empty. There are more shouts, and she recognizes James’ smooth voice calling out orders.)
Elizabeth: What--? (Elizabeth throws back the sheets and climbs out of bed, shrugging out of Will’s old shirt that she’d been wearing as a nightdress. She shoves her culottes on and ties them at the waist, and quickly puts on her tunic, leaving the overcoat and armor behind. Elizabeth grabs her boots and goes to put them on her feet, but she discovers a piece of parchment, and Will’s necklace inside the right one.)
Elizabeth: No. (plucks up the necklace. Despite the urgency of the sounds of battle, Elizabeth is unable to prevent herself from opening the parchment and reading it. Her brown eyes widen, then fill with tears. Clutching the necklace and the letter, Elizabeth runs out of the cabin barefoot, her boots forgotten.) Will?
CUT TO…Deck
(Elizabeth rushes to James)
Elizabeth: James, have you seen Will? (sees grim expression on his face)
James: (reluctantly) He’s on the Dutchman. (Elizabeth rushes to the railing, but James holds her back.) You’re not even armed, Elizabeth. Do not be foolish.
(Realizing that she is close to being hysterical she attempts to calm down. It’s at that moment that she realizes James is again on Will’s ship. She opens her mouth to question him, but James has to tackle her to the deck, and just in time too, as a canon whistles over their heads.)
CUT TO…The Flying Dutchman
(Will exits the captain’s quarters, intent on making his way to the powder stores, but he finds his way blocked by Jones’ men. There seem to be many new crew members, more than he recalled from his past ‘visit’ to the Dutchman, and they swarm about him and his men. As he engages yet another enemy, Will gets a sinking sensation in his stomach. The plan was going to fail. Unless…his eyes meet his father’s.)
Will: Father!
(Bootstrap roughly shoves one attacker away and slices neatly through another in order to reach his son’s side.)
Will: Father, you have to promise me – (Will is cut off as a saw-toothed blade bites deeply into his arm. Cursing, Will fumbles and drops his sword.)
(Bootstrap knows what his son is asking of him, and although his whole heart wishes he could say no, he accepts that they have run out of options. As Will scrambles on the floor for his sword, Bootstrap fights off the attackers, although for the moment there seems to be a small lull, as many of them are still trying to search the floor for missing body parts.)
Bootstrap: I promise.
(Unaware of his father’s thoughts, Will smiles faintly at him and takes the time to gingerly examine his freshest wound. It’s deep and painful but not life threatening. There’s no time to bind it, however, as the press of Davy’s crew suddenly becomes stronger and he is forced to defend himself once again. He is pushed backwards toward the stairs leading up to the deck – away from his father, and from the powder stores.)
(Bootstrap watches in horror as his son is forced to flee up the stairs. Mercer and four men follow to help defend Will.)
Marine: Sir? We’re running out of time. (Bill nods reluctantly. Will had made him promise, and he would make certain that he kept it.)
Bootstrap: Follow me. (leads the men deeper into the interior of the ship.)
CUT TO…James’ and Elizabeth’s Ship
Elizabeth: James, look out! (quickly runs through one of Jones’ crew who was about to stab James in the back. They had gotten closer to the Dutchman thanks to James’ careful orders, but as soon as they had been in boarding range a whole slew of the fearsome undead sailors had appeared on the deck of Will’s ship.)