Barbossa was on edge now.
His crew had laughed off the skeleton and the women that snuck up behind them, and he had too. However, he and the handful of his crewmen with functioning brains were only feigning their nonchalance.
The reality was that the only other way into the caves was the sky light in the treasure room. Getting to that spot from the outside wasn't easy in the slightest, and it was impossible to spot until you were practically on top of it, even when you knew it was there.
So how did they reach it? Why were no alarms sounded by the men remaining inside?
Even if Miss Swann could take out the three guards in the treasure room with her, she couldn't have stopped all of them from fleeing. Surely not.
Even if she could, they'd certainly make noise. The few others lingering in the caves just in case would have brought a warning to him.
"Miss Swann is further within. Follow closely, so you don't get lost in the caves," Barbossa beckoned towards the other crew.
"How come you got all your meat back? Is this a meat cave or something?" the straw hat boy that Barbossa quickly identified as the leader asked. He didn't know why they were following someone so young, but that was never a good sign in his experience. Young captains were often charismatic, yes, but also very competent; otherwise they couldn't inspire others to fall in line.
"No. The light of the moon reveals our cursed nature," Barbossa answered the stupid question seriously. Better to let him distract himself with such inanity than to become defensive because Barbossa called him an idiot.
"Really?" Was he picking his nose? "Kind of like minks, then?"
"It is not!" the rabbit girl denied. She was a strange thing, but he could hardly judge given his own circumstances. "The moon didn't curse us, it gives us power!"
Barbossa elected to largely ignore the brewing argument, though he did keep his ears open for any worthwhile information.
His unease grew as they moved through the caves. They should have run into one of his men by now, but there was no sign of them.
Barbossa glanced at the tall skeletal figure following closely behind him. Unlike his crew, this skeleton remained as such, even when not under moonlight. He also did not have any eyes, though that fact did not seem to impede him in any way.
Was he also deathless like they were? That could complicate things. Barbossa did not want or need further complications.
They turned the final corner and reached the treasure room.
What?
The room contained only the stone chest in the center and a pile of broken bones; more bones than can be found in only three men. Every ounce of gold, every piece of art, every bit of it was gone and the only sign of where it went was a rope extending up and out of the cave via the skylight.
Elizabeth Swann, incidentally, was also no longer present.
"Treachery!" Barbossa cried out, grabbing the pink haired woman and putting his pistol to her head.
His crew was quick to respond, even the dullards who hadn't realized all that had gone wrong until this moment. Being quick to react was the reason he bothered keeping them around, after all.
"Where did you take my treasure?!" Barbossa demanded. Breaking the curse was important, yes, but it was all for naught if they were flat broke!
"We didn't take anything!" the redhead denied, wielding an odd staff. She was lying, Barbossa was certain of it. Perhaps she wasn't privy to the details, but she knew!
"Hector!" an infuriatingly familiar voice called out from behind him. "How good to see you again! How have you been? In good health, I hope!"
Barbossa spared a sidelong glance, but didn't completely remove his attention from the true threats.
Sparrow Jack slid down the rope and landed, planting his feet on either side of the open stone chest. In one hand, he held the monkey Jack by his boney tail. In monkey Jack's little hands was a coin.
"Ow!" Barbossa's head swiveled toward the Turner boy, who was clutching his arm. When his hand came away, there was blood on it.
Barbossa instantly knew what was happening. He threw the pink haired woman away and was already booking it toward the chest.
A woman wearing Miss Swann's dress, but who was decidedly not Miss Swann, swiped a dagger coated in blood across the coin and made the monkey drop it into the chest below.
"No!" Barbossa shouted, knowing it was futile.
The coin landed with a soft clink that might as well have been the ringing of a church bell at his own funeral. The skeletal monkey's flesh and skin regrew at a pace so fast you could blink and miss it
Human Jack, holding what Barbossa suspected actually was the pistol that he gave to him to off himself on that deserted island ten years ago, began to aim.
Barbossa already had his own pistol ready to go, though. He fired at Jack, who wisely leapt away before the shot went off. Barbossa hurled the empty flintlock at the woman and drew his sword in a desperate charge towards Jack.
The cavern behind him was a cacophony of clashing blades and gun shots, but Barbossa didn't have any room to spare them any attention. He'd simply have to trust that his band of hardened killers hadn't lost their ability to fight without relying on the curse.
Barbossa's saber came down and Jack was forced to block it with his pistol. Jack drew his own sword and started to duel with him in earnest.
Fortunately, Barbossa was the superior swordsman. Despite Jack having a gun in his offhand, he couldn't bring it to bear without Barbossa skewering him for the attempt.
There was still the mystery woman to worry about, but she hadn't come into play yet. When Barbossa managed to position himself with Jack between him and the stone chest, he saw that she was preoccupied… with the monkey.
Confusion later. Murder now.
"I've waited ten years for this," Jack said. "I'd leave you on that very same island if I could, but I'll settle for less."
"You certainly will settle for less, Jack," Barbossa countered. "Because you'll be the one dying today!"
Jack was better than he used to be, Barbossa could admit that, but Barbossa was also better now than before. He very much doubted that Jack's skills were honed in frequent battle like Barbossa's were, too.
They danced around the room and the caves became deathly quiet. Barbossa wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. It wasn't until he just happened to be facing that direction that he could see why.
They were betting. All his men were on the ground and the other pirates were betting on the result of his duel.
"I've been hit! I'm dying!" the long nosed one screamed, which gave Barbossa some hope for his apparently useless crew.
"Stop being a baby. It barely grazed you. Cherry did more damage to Will cutting his arm than you got from that bullet," the reindeer boy shattered Barbossa's hopes.
"I've got a hundred thousand on fancy hat," the green haired swordsman wagered.
"No way," the blond man rejected. "Sea legs is a dirty fighter. He's gonna win."
"I'll put ten doubloons down on myself!" Jack shouted at them.
"A million Beri and one monkey on a tie," the mystery woman proclaimed.
"Damn it!" Barbossa growled. "If I win, you have to give all my treasure back!"
Might as well get in on the action, right?