Disclaimer: I do not own POTC or any characters featured in POTC. Sadly.

Chapter one- Straight into Hell

Pain. Gnawing, ripping, tearing, biting pain. Was this hell? Was this what Captain Jack Sparrow was to endure for the rest o--

Hold on.

The pirate Captain felt him self from head to toe. Completely whole. But how could this be? Just seconds before, he was being ripped to pieces and now…it was as if he had jumped right through the mouth of the Kraken and onto…was that sand?

Captain Jack leaned on his elbows as he surveyed the apparent beach. The whole area seemed dead. Trees, plant life, animals. All decaying on the sandy shore and back into the forest. The water was brown and various sea creatures floated at the surface, rotting away as ravens pecked their bones. The sky was completely gray, as if rain was perpetually building and yet never being released to the earth. Where the bloody hell am I, he thought, Am I--

"Dead?", an echoing voice called, finishing the pirate's thought.

Jack nearly jumped out of his seemingly intact skin. "Who said that?", he asked the air, standing up to find that he was actually quite weak. His voice echoed as well and did not seem to be coming from his mouth, even though he could feel it leave his lips.

"Behind you", the voice answered, playfully. Jack turned, swaying a great deal more than he usually did, to see what appeared to be a young girl. She could not have been more than fifteen and yet looked weathered and old. Her hair was white and in gnarls that reached past her back and to her knees. He eyes were ice blue, contrasting to her dark, chocolate skin. They were completely void of all emotion. She wore a cream colored wedding dress that seemed too large for her.

"Who are you?", Jack questioned once more, finding that his throat was dry. He was much too sober for this. The girl grinned, yet her eyes remained stoic.

"I am the keeper", she said dreamily before spreading her arms, "And you are at World's End"

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Footsteps could be heard from the stairwell as a man, believed to be dead, looked upon the group of mourners.

"So tell me", he started, "What's become of my ship?", he took a rather large bite off of a green apple as he waited for an answer.

"Barbossa", exclaimed a Mr. William Turner. Confusion was evident on his face. Had he not aided in killing this man? Had he not watched him die? Captain Barbossa rolled his eyes a bit and looked to the newly excited Tia Dalma for a bit of help in explaining.

"Dis be de only man ever to go to World's End and come back", the mystic began, "So it is only him dat can show ye de way to de Pearl and Jack Sparrow"

The hut was silent for a few moments. Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing. He'd actually agreed to this? Jack had killed Hector Barbossa. Yet now the previously undead captain was willing to venture to the very place that he'd only just escaped to rescue the man that sent him there in the first place? What was the catch?

Suddenly, a female voice the silence. "Do we have our heading…Captain?", the voice was that of Elizabeth Swann. She seemed to be very conflicted as she said it, however. It was her fault that Jack Sparrow was dead. She wanted nothing more than to save him no matter who she had to obey, no matter what the cost.

"Straight into Hell, Miss Swann", Captain Barbossa answered, "Straight into Hell"

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So, how was that for a first chapter, eh? I must say that I had fun writing it. Took 2 hours, though. Oh well. Its short...but the next will be much longer.