Summary: Picks up EXACTLY after DMC. Elizabeth, Will, Barbossa, Tia Dalma and the rest of the crew sail towards an island which has what they need to make it to Davy Jones' Locker and save Jack. Afterwards, they have to fight Beckett and his men to take possession of the heart, but things seem to go all screwey ... This is my own version of At World's End.

Pairings: Mostly Jack/Elizabeth in later chapters, but there is also a little bit of Will/Elizabeth and Jack/OC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, I just like to play around with the story a bit.


The crew couldn't take their eyes off Captain Barbossa. It was too peculiar to see him alive again. The last memories they had of him was lying underneath the treasure of Cortez, his eyes wide open and with an apple rolling away from his cold, dead hands.

So how could he be alive again? They had so many questions to ask, but all they could do was gape at him – flabbergasted at what they were seeing. Elizabeth and Will looked from Tia Dalma to Barbossa and back; Ragetti and Pintel turned bright red at the sight of their former captain; Gibbs muttered, "Why, heavens!" slowly under his breath, while Cotton's parrot burst into a shouting of, "Don't eat me!"

Barbossa grinned. "What are ye looking at?" he addressed all of them as the steps he was walking on creaked under the weight of his boots. Tia flashed her teeth at Barbossa when he situated himself next to her, peering at the familiar faces in front of him.

Will was the first one to speak, and his words didn't contain much wisdom. "Captain Barbossa," he stated.

"Aye," Barbossa replied with another one of his grins. "Word has come to me that ye are in need of a Cap'n who knows tha seas well. Aye?"

"Aye," Tia Dalma said before any of the others could reply. She placed a hand on Barbossa's right shoulder, while her gaze turned to the others. "Ye all remember Captain Barbossa?"

Will glared at him. "How could we forget?" he asked rhetorically.

"I 'ad no doubt that ye wouldn't," Barbossa replied. "So ... 'ave you lost Captain Jack Sparrow, eh?" he asked him, though it was more towards everyone in general.

Will's hands clenched into a fist as his nostrils flared and he turned a bit red. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt so angry when he heard that name. Maybe it was because he couldn't believe that he let Jack get swallowed by the Kraken without trying to stop him. However, Will was starting to think that he felt angry at Jack and Elizabeth for betraying him. He knew that Elizabeth had no idea that Will had saw them kissing when they were still aboard the Black Pearl, but he wasn't sure he could keep it to himself any longer.

The rest of the crew looked down in sadness, all except Elizabeth, who seemed determined to keep her face clear of emotion. At this, Tia Dalma glanced quickly at Elizabeth, and the latter immediately looked down, trying to avoid eye contact. Elizabeth didn't know Tia much yet, but she felt insecure around her. She somehow felt uncomfortable around Tia.

"We haven't lost 'im," Gibbs broke the awkward silence, his tone a little too harsh than it ought to be. "We are sailing right back and save Jack from his grim fate."

"Ah, well really, it seems like a waste of time really. First, you let him die, and then you are going back again to fetch 'im," Barbossa said and laughed. "You pirates certainly don't know what ye're doin' without a good Cap'n."

"Jack was a good Cap'n!" Gibbs said as he slammed a fist on the table near him.

"This is no time to be fightin'," Tia Dalma interrupted harshly, and it was lucky for Gibbs that she did because Barbossa had already opened his mouth to retort something back. "We need to set sail to Tortuga to fetch some loyal crew," she added, and removed the hand she had placed on Barbossa's shoulder.

"We 'ave no ship," Pintel stated.

Tia grinned. "Indeed ye don't," she said as she turned to face him. "But I do. A very good one. One that will never match the Black Pearl, but good enough."

"Impossible," Will told her, narrowing his eyes at her. "There is no ship anywhere near the beach. And it's impossible to have a ship here; this is not the open ocean."

Tia sighed and turned her gaze to Will instead. "You need to learn to look further, William Turner," she addressed him with his full name. "Now all of ye, follow me." However, none of them moved except Barbossa, even though Tia walked over to the door of her shack and waited for them. "What are ye all waitin' for? There is no time to lose!" she told them.

"Why should we trust you?" Will blurted. "After all, we found him in your shack," he added and motioned to Barbossa.

Tia took a few steps towards Will and the others. "Have I ever lied to ye?" she directed her question towards Will.

"Fine, then tell me how Barbossa seems to be back to life," Will told her and crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation.

Tia looked at Barbossa then back at Will. "Some things ought to be left unknown. How Barbossa is alive is not your concern. What ye should be concerned about, what ye all should be concerned about, is that dear Jack Sparrow needs your help. Now, are you willing to accept the help of a Cap'n who knows the seas well, or are you not?"

"That pirate tried to kill us all before!" Will shouted angrily. "I can't trust him, and neither should you!" He glanced at the crew around him, hoping that they would agree with him. Unfortunately for Will, nobody spoke. "What is the matter with you guys?"

Barbossa grinned. "We better get goin'," he whispered to Tia. With a nod, the latter went out of the door and waited for the others to do the same.

- - -

Lord Cutler Beckett stared out of his window; a sly smile was forming on his face. He turned away from watching the busy Port Royal citizens and looked at James Norrington. "Admiral Norrington, I am proud of your loyalty to the East India Trading Company," he told him. Beckett glanced sideways at the heart of Davy Jones, which was still miraculously beating inside the bag, delivered by Norrington himself.

"I am glad to have been in your service," Norrington replied with a smile and a nod.

Beckett smiled back. "Oh you can be assured that this will not be the last time that we make use of your services Norrington," he told him. His gaze turned back to the latter. "Now, I need you to tell me, where are Jack Sparrow and his crew?"

Norrington looked down at the floor for a few seconds then gazed back up at Beckett. "Last time I saw them, they were running away from Davy Jones' crew. I have no idea where they were heading to next," he told him.

Beckett stared at Norrington, probably trying to sense if he was lying or not. Apparently he didn't find any proof that he was lying, so he decided to walk over to the window again. "Well then, I am sure you would not mind setting sail with me and my crew and find them." He walked towards his desk and sat down, his eyes looking greedily at the bag containing the heart. "With this, we can do whatever we want."