A/N: This is based on Ashton Kutcher's movie "The Butterfly Effect." There is no timeline so assume that "Dead Man's Chest" and "At World's End" didn't happen. If you haven't seen the movie, it goes like this: Ashton's character suffers from amnesia. His psychiatrist suggests that he write in a diary to keep his memories from being lost. He learns the hard way that he can travel through time but he has no control over it. He won't know where he goes or what year. He is in love with his childhood friend Kayleigh. He goes to a different time so he can get her to fall in love with him but accidents keep happening and something bad happens to her every time. He tries going to different times to save her and loses her every time. Ultimately, it leads him to make a shocking decision. Elizabeth can't decide between Will or Jack but doesn't want to lose either of them. She must make a decision: which one will she sacrifice?

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Elizabeth, Will and Jack are the property of the Walt Disney Co. Am only borrowing them for this story.

1691 – somewhere in the eastern Atlantic

The seas pounded the side of the ship. The winds were fierce and changing direction so often that it was impossible to sail straight but Capt. Jack Sparrow didn't waver. He knew exactly how far to turn the wheel to keep the Black Pearl

from hitting the rocks. They were off the coast of Portugal, evading the East India Co.'s fastest ship. Elizabeth was helping everyone secure the cannons below deck. Will kept a sharp eye on the coast, warning Jack when he was too

close to the rocky edges of the shore. The Pearl lost sight of the pursuing ships, bringing a sigh of relief to the others. However, it was too close. They had been caught almost totally off guard and a huge hole was on port, where a barrel

of rum could be shoved through. Ironically, that was how they patched it up. Despite Jack's howls of protest, Gibbs insisted and had it sealed with a thick layer of tar. Jack finally shut his mouth after Gibbs asked him if he'd like to lose

MORE rum for the other barrels might roll through the hole with the ship pitching so badly in the rough seas. The storm abated slightly as they headed farther up north. The coast was visible so Jack pulled slightly to port. They were out of

the danger area. Nobody had spotted even a single-master within shooting distance so the chase ship had not tried to call for help, a serious error on that captain's part.

Everyone was so relieved that they planned to put in to the next port to party. Tortuga was off limits for now because of the warring Far Eastern ships vying for control of the island. That was the danger of working alone; Jack couldn't

call for help. He was on his own although he did have Elizabeth and Will on his back. "Haul in the yards!" he shouted. They pulled in most of the mainmast sail to slow down. "Gibbs." "Aye!" Jack went down to assess the damage. He

grinned, it wasn't anywhere as bad as Gibbs said. He was actually a bit peeved at the man for exaggerating. He realized that Gibbs had his reasons. Telling them the truth might cause the lazy ones among the crew to slacken their efforts.

That was a no-no even though it meant being on the end of a bullwhip. Although Jack hated having to administer punishments, it was the only way to keep the lazy ones in line. Other pirates might not think a simple coarse leather whip

would be bad but it was probably worse. The dry leather sliced through calloused skin easily so even the hardiest sailor would have collapsed after only 10 strokes. One or two would answer to the bullwhip tomorrow morning.

With the coastline fading slightly, they could relax. Unfortunately for Jack, that meant the precious rum barrels would be raided and this is exactly what happened. An hour later, Jack was in his cabin, planning the next leg of their trip

when he reached for his mug. "Ohhhh, why is the rum always gone?"

Will was so tired that Elizabeth left him snoring in her cabin. She sat at the table next to him and finished her mug of rum. She felt better whenever he was next to her although she had been having trouble keeping her eyes off Jack. It

was a fact that she couldn't bring herself to deny. She had been stealing glances at Jack and now, was wondering how much longer she would be able to resist said temptation. Trying to shake her mind off of Jack Sparrow, she reached

under the bed and found the heavy wooden box containing all her diaries. She had, at the behest of a child doctor, kept a journal to "keep 'er head straight." Lately, the blackouts had very slowly crept up until it was too late. She had an

embarrassing moment last week when she passed out on deck watch. Jack chalked it up to "too much bloody rum." She knew why. Writing in the diary was the only thing that kept her head straight. She could focus on words rather than

her splitting headaches.

Dear diary,

I cannot believe how close we came today. It was too scary and I, for once, thought about getting knocked on rum but decided I could do without the headaches. Will and Jack are dreadful after they have a rum-induced hangover! The

ship is in decent shape but that massive hole worries me too. Thank God Gibbs has the ability to think when Jack can't! Hee hee! But I'll never mention THAT aloud.

As she wrote, she was aware of a few things: she had a splitting headache. That was impossible since she had drunk only half a mug of rum. She also noticed that the room seemed to be getting hazy. It was like a groggy dream where

she could never be sure whether she was awake or not. It got foggier and suddenly, everything faded away.

A/N: more to come. Please read and review!