The crew hadn't a clue how it happened aboard the ship. The small black plastic ball that was a toy for children. Gibbs had found if first, rolling aimlessly around on deck.

He picked it up curiously. It was about the same size as a canon ball, albeit a lot lighter, with a small, round, flat screen. He shook it, listening to the soft rattling sound that emanated from it.

"What might this be?" He asked softly. He turned it over and saw that there was something white under the screen. He held it to show it more accurately.

'Yes.'

"Yes what?" He raised an eyebrow and went to find the rest of the crew.

The crew very much enjoyed the Magic Question Ball, as Rigetti called it, and were so inthralled with it that they missed their duties.

Jack noticed this and went to see what all the fuss was about. He plucked the small black ball from Rigetti's hands and looked it over. "What's this, mates?"

"A magic question ball," Rigetti responded. "It helped me find me eye." He motioned to his right temple–or more precisely, his right eye socket–where the wooden object was.

"Magic question ball?" Jack looked at it again.

"Aye. It answers yes or no questions," said Pintel, trying to please the captain and not face his wrath.

"Yes or no?" Jack was intrigued. "Do you answer questions?" He shook the ball almost violently and looked at the screen.

'Most certainly.'

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Is the rum gone?"

'Yes.'

Jack moaned. "Why is the rum always gone?" He meandered across the deck to his cabin, not even bothering to pay much mind to his crew men.

All of his crew members were scrambling across the deck to get their duties done quickly, their source of distraction confiscated by their captain.

Jack sat at his desk, the magic question ball placed atop his map. "Answers yes or no questions..."

He picked it up. "Is William Turner going to join the crew again?"

'It is for certain.'

Jack's expression brightened quickly and then darkened when he remembered the young man's Bonny lass.

"Is miss Elizabeth Swann going to be with him?"

'Definitely.'

He frowned. "Is miss Elizabeth Swann going to marry mister Will Turner?"

'Most certainly-'

Jack didn't want to finish reading it but he forced himself to.

'-not.'

He grinned. "Who will mister Will Turner marry?"

'Reply hazy, try again.'

"Ah, right," Jack scratched his beard. "Yes or no answers." He thought for a moment and amended his question. "Will mister Will Turner marry someone?"

'Yes.'

Jack smiled. Jokingly, knowing that he'd never get the man to himself, he asked, "Will mister Will Turner marry me?"

'It is certain.'

Jack's eyes widened. He was going to marry William Turner, Bootstrap Bill Turner's son? He smiled softly. He'd have to be sure to treat him properly.

Sure enough Will and Elizabeth boarded the Pearl the next day. They seemed more distant than they had the last time they'd been seen together but Jack didn't care much.

He did, however, put both of them to work almost immediately after they came aboard.

Jack hovered behind Will, watching as he scrubbed the deck in a hypnotizing pattern.

Will lasted a mere sixty seconds before he stood up, spun to face Jack, and pulled his sword from his hip. The blade was leveled evenly, pointing directly at Jack's heart.

"What do you want, Jack?"

"Captain. Captain Jack." Jack said as he cautiously pushed the blade of the sword down. "Am I not allowed to watch my crew as they work?"

"I don't see you watching anyone else the way you're watching me. In fact, I don't even see you watching anyone else."

"I was, I was watching Gibbs." Jack stared evenly at Will.

Will snorted. "They I guess you should've realized by now that he's not on deck. He's below deck."

Jack turned his head away to hide his slight flush. "A captain who captains doesn't have to be able to see a member of the crew he captains to know what they are doing. A captain is part of the ship, all seeing and all knowing. Like, for instance, I know that you and Miss Swann had a disagreement and you broke off the wedding, likely because you had feelings for someone else."

Will looked away. "I didn't break off the wedding. She did." He knelt down and started scrubbing the deck again, slower than he had the first time. "I was in love. Just not with her." Will chuckled softly. "And the person I'm in love with is too shallow to realize I'm in love with them."

"I'm sure they realize," Jack said, kneeling down beside Will. "And I'm sure they have the same feelings for you, mate."

Will scoffed. "Not likely."

Jack put a hand on Will's, stopping the scrubbing of the deck. "Jack-"

He was silenced by a pair of sea salted lips pressed against his.

Eventually Elizabeth found the plastic ball that answered Jack's questions. She explained to him that it's a child's toy and the answers are just a joke.