A/N: I apologize for the big gap between updates. While the other stories followed the films, this installment will diverge entirely, so it's been requiring a bit more planning and such. But now it's happening. yeaaahhhh

Prologue

Traveling between worlds didn't seem like something one could ever get used to, but Will was gradually becoming accustomed to it. As time passed, he found himself settling into a routine: escorting the dead, working alongside his father and the rest of the crew, missing Elizabeth. The only thing that continued to throw him off were the encounters with the poor souls it was his duty to escort. Many of them were grown men, sailors, soldiers, pirates, and such-that was one thing. But often they were children, boys no older than Will had been himself when he'd left England. Sometimes women clutching swaddled infants. There was little he could do but make sure they reached their destination. It was enough to make anyone a little gloomy.

One day, a passenger showed up that was in worse shape than most. His face was marred by so many gashes it was hardly recognizable as a face, eyes clawed out, upper lip torn. Chunks of flesh had been chewed away from his limbs and it looked like someone-or something-had tried to pull out the man's intestines. The man kept babbling in French; Will was a little surprised he could speak at all in his state. He couldn't understand much French, but one of his shipmates could.

"He keeps saying something about a beast, a vicious beast, I can't make out-slow down, lad, er, moins vite. Um. Really vicious beasts, apparently. Big teeth and fangs. They killed him for trying to take it."

"Take what?" said Will.

His shipmate shrugged. "He's not saying. Something real valuable, I reckon, if they did that to the poor bastard."

"What's he saying now?"

"Praying to God to save him. It's a little late for that, friend!"

Whatever it was that had done it, wherever it was, Will hoped somebody was able to stop it before it gave him too many more passengers. And he hoped that Elizabeth would do what she'd been told for once and stay on that island, where it was safe for both of them.

I wound up splayed out on a grassy lawn. The grass was cold and wet with dew.

The sky was dark, but I could see a house, illuminated by a streetlight that clearly used a light bulb rather than a lit torch. I struggled into a sitting position and blinked a few times. It appeared that I was back in my own world, in my own time. In my own front yard.

I stood up and walked up to my house, peering up at the front window. My mother, her dark, curly hair gathered into a messy, tangly knot at the base of her neck, sat in an armchair in the living room. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were puffy, as if she'd recently been crying. I knocked on the front door and she shuffled slowly toward the door, as if she were walking through molasses.

She saw me and her eyes went wide and she clutched one hand to her chest. Then she rushed to open the door, hands shaking. "Bailey!" She pulled me inside the house and into a lung-crushing hug, and then she held me at arm's length. "I thought you were dead. Where – where did you go? Where have you been all this time? I've been worried sick about you!"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you where I was."

"I hope you didn't do anything stupid, Bailey Caitlin Brown," my mother said, letting go of me to close the door behind us. "Are you on drugs? Are you pregnant?"

"No, Mom, I'm not on drugs," I said. I didn't answer the second one because I realized, with a bit of panic, that I actually didn't know the answer to that one. I mean, I didn't think I was, but we had done the deed, Jack and I, and I don't think we had been particularly careful about where he had, um... finished.

If there was any justice in the world, I would turn out to be barren. I was so not the baby-having type of gal. Baby cats, maybe, but not baby humans.

Cats. That made me think of Grainne, back on the Pearl with the others. I hoped she was okay.

"You didn't answer the other question," my mother said suspiciously. "I certainly hope that's because it's such a ridiculous question you didn't stoop to answer it. I would like to think even you are responsible enough not to get knocked up by some...some hoodlum you hardly know."

"'Hoodlum', Ma?"

"Well?"

"See, this is why I stormed out in the first place," I said, folding my arms. "You always think the absolute worst of me."

She stopped scowling and instead looked guilty and sad. "Oh, Bailey...I'm...I'm sorry, I really am. I don't mean to make you think I think the worst of you. You're just a bit...impetuous, and I worry. You've no idea how much I worry." She paused. "Really, where have you been all this time?"

"I told you that you wouldn't believe me," I said.

"Try me," she said.

"It's a long story."

"I'll make some tea."

So I told her. The tea was hot and bitter, with just a little bit of lemon and honey. I cupped my hands around the warmth of my mug while I spoke. She took it in, quietly sipping from her own cup. And then, suddenly, she started to smile.

"I thought you said you didn't like that movie," she said.

"I don't. I mean, I didn't. I mean, I did – it's different when you're there!"

"When you can make googly eyes at Jack Sparrow in person. I see."

"I didn't even like him until a while after I met him," I protested.

"How old is that man, anyway? He's got to be older than you. Twice your age, maybe. I don't like it," my mother said. "But. You're an adult, and you can make your own decisions. I just hope you're making good ones."

"I had my own doubts for a while, but yeah, they're good ones. He's a good one. Mostly."

It was getting late, so my mom went to bed. I was used to being up at odd hours, so I wasn't sleepy quite yet. Once I was sure my mother was asleep, I crept into the bathroom and started rifling through the closet and the cabinets. Aha! I found a box of pregnancy tests, pulled one out, and unwrapped it. Now was the moment of truth.

I peed on it and I waited. And waited. Only one line popped up on the little screen, which meant I was not pregnant. I danced around the bathroom and triumphantly lobbed the little pee stick in the trash. Then I washed my hands and made a mental note to be more careful in the future.

Suddenly I felt very tired. I couldn't stop yawning, and it was as if tiny little anchors were attached to my eyelids. I went to my room, crawled into my old bed, and fell asleep.

I woke up in a boat, a little dinghy. Whose dinghy? I didn't know. I felt very confused. Sitting up, I looked around and tried to get my bearings. The dinghy had been beached on a small island. Beyond the beach was verdant forest-type stuff. Well, that was a lot of help. This could be literally any number of islands in the Caribbean.

Wait. No. This island looked familiar. Yes! This was the island Elizabeth was on!

I guess the only thing to do was try to find Liz. Maybe I could ask her if I could borrow her boat. I clambered out of the boat and set off, walking up the beach and into the forest. A cool breeze drifted through the trees, which was a bit of a relief from the hot sun beating down. I could hear noises in the distance-maybe monkeys chattering? Or birds?

It hadn't been very long at all when suddenly a rope pulled taut around my ankle and hoisted me into the air. I screamed. And I dangled. Blood rushed to my head, making me feel woozy. Liz burst out of the bushes, brandishing a sword, and I screamed more. She looked surprised to see me, but she lowered the sword and untied the rope where it had been knotted around a tree branch. I fell onto the ground with a flump.

"What the hell was that?"

"I have to keep the chest safe!" Liz said. "People will have heard that Will's the new captain of the Dutchman. They might come looking for his heart, so I set traps all over the island. What are you doing here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I said. "Calypso works in mysterious ways." I realized that this was the first time since Jack passed out on the rumrunner's island that Liz and I had had a one-on-one conversation.

"Calypso?" Liz repeated.

"It's a long story. How long has it been since the big battle?"

"A little over a week."

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to lend me your boat."

"I might. What do you intend to do with it?"

"I'm gonna go find Jack, of course."

"Oh," Liz said, sounding amused. "I suppose I should have guessed."

"He's after the Fountain of Youth, you know."

Her eyes lit up. "The Fountain of Youth? Is he really?"

"Yeah. It's gonna be a pain in the ass to track him down. How long did you say it's been, a week? He could already be in Florida by now!" Setting my violin case aside gently, I flopped heavily onto the ground and groaned with frustration. "Why couldn't Calypso just drop me in with Jack in the first place?"

"You keep saying such strange things. I'd like to help you, Bailey, but I insist you explain yourself," Liz said.

"You're not going to believe me," I said.

"After all that's happened, there's little I wouldn't believe."

There wasn't really anything for me to lose, I supposed. If anything, I could gain Lizzie's trust by being honest, and then she'd let me use her boat. So I explained. I told her the whole story. Well, not everything, but the gist of it. She made for a very polite audience, but it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

"I wonder how many worlds there really are," she said. "First it was Davy Jones's locker, and now this other world of yours. What was it like?"

"Um," I said. "It's about three hundred years in the future from now. A lot of things are different. There's carriages that move without horses, and instead of sailing across the seas, there are big ships that go in the air. And everyone takes baths."

"It sounds fascinating," Lizzie said, sounding awestruck. "Was it really worth it, leaving it behind?"

"Um," I said. "Yeah. I hope so. Are you gonna let me use your boat, or not?"

"No. I'm going with you."

"But-don't you have to guard the chest?"

"The traps will suffice, I'm sure," said Liz. "I can hardly just sit here for ten years, can I? I'll help you find Jack, and then we'll all go after the Fountain of Youth."

"Ohoho, I see what you're up to! You're jealous that Will gets to sail around and never age so you want to get the Fountain for yourself! Another adventure and eternal youth to match Will's, two birds with one stone! Hahaha! Oh, Elizardbeth, you're so sneaky."

I thought she was going to deny it, or snap at me, but instead she just smiled and said, "That's King Elizardbeth to you."

I bowed. "Please accept my sincerest apologies, Your Majesty."

We hauled the dinghy out into the water, climbed in, and started to row.