This has been stuck in my head for awhile, so here's a one-shot of my recent mental fantasies. If this gets some positive feedback, I'll continue it into more than a one-shot. This is an alternate scene of Jack fighting Davy Jones on top of the Dutchman's mast.

At World's End - Alternate Scene:

The Wrath of Davy Jones

"You can do nothing without the key!" Davy Jones shouted at the man on the other side of two clashing blades.

"I already have the key!" Captain Jack Sparrow, the other man replied.

"No, you don't." The tentacled creature replied, shaking a tentacle that held a strange looking key as he laughed.

"Oh, that key…" The man frowned momentarily before unlocking blades and forcing Jones back into the duel.

He managed to get a lucky swing in and cut off the tentacle that held the key. It fell to the main deck of the ship as Jones cried out in a moment of pain, which quickly passed. Sparrow knocked the creature's sword away, hitting him in the face with the chest itself. He swung with the sword once again, only for the other's pincher claw hand to catch it and snap the blade. He pulled back, nervously, now only armed with the chest.

Still circling the whirlpool, the Flying Dutchman's mast interlocked with that of the Black Pearl.

The ship lurched.

Jack cried out in surprise, his body thrown off the mast- tumbling after the key.

"No!" Jones cried, grabbing the chest before it could fall after the man, having been lucky enough to remain on the mast.

The other man's body slammed onto the deck of the ship. He groaned in clear pain, not reacting fast enough to dodge the sword that lodged itself in his back. He let out a strangled cry of pain as he felt the cool metal force its way deeper into his body. He felt it pierce through the skin of his chest and heard it impale the wooden boards beneath him. His eyes were wide in shock and in the tremendous agony he didn't try to move; he simply let himself lie there.

Jones laugh rang out and the man on the deck knew that he'd used his strange trick of moving through solid objects to get back down there so quickly.

Jack's thoughts were fading at a decent pace and he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

*X*

Elizabeth hadn't married Will. When she'd found out he was working with Beckett, she'd been shocked and angered to the point of no longer wanting to be his wife.

She'd seen Jack hit the deck hard and she'd seen Jones run the sword through his unmoving body. Remembering what she did to him back when the Kraken attacked- how she kissed him to trick him, to save the others and herself- the memory of it and the pleasure of his lips on hers, she'd made her decision.

"Jack!" She cried out, hurrying towards him.

Lying on his stomach and stuck that way, he'd begun trying to pull it out with his hands, the effort useless as Jones pushed the blade further into the ship's deck, cutting the other man's hands now as well.

Elizabeth reached Jack just as he stopped trying to pull the sword from his torso. His breathing was heavy and coming in rapid breaths, not from the effort, but from the pain. His skin had paled from blood loss. The scarlet liquid pooled around him, permanently staining the wooden deck beneath him.

Jones let out a cruel laugh, pulling his sword from the injured man lying before him. He turned, vanishing through the mast, to go find his next victim among the ship.

"Jack!" She urged the injured pirate. He didn't answer, staring into the distance. She shook him. "Jack!"

Jack jerked his head to look at her, sharply, the pain of the sword wound clear in his eyes, which were glazed in a look of agony and traumatic shock. It was obvious that he couldn't bring himself to roll onto his back or sit up. It seemed to take him a great amount of effort to even stay conscious and keep his eyes focused on her.

"'Lizabeth…" He forced out in a hoarse voice just above a whisper. "Go. The others need your help. Savvy?"

"You need my help more." She murmured.

"It might be too late." He answered. "As different as I am, I can die too, love. Ye should know that above everyone else. Ye remember the Kraken."

"I-" She tried.

"Ye want to redeem yourself; a chance to prove that ye're not like the others." He gave a smirk, despite the pain he was in. "But what ye don't know is that ye already have. Ye came back an' got me from the Locker. That's good enough for ole Jack."

"Jack, the ships- they're going to get sucked into the maelstrom. I can't leave you to drown." Elizabeth told him.

"Ah, but what of dear William?" Jack asked in reply, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Will betrayed us. He's been with the East India Trading Company the whole time." She answered, nearly snapping at him. He flinched and her voice softened sadly. "He's not the same man from who he was before. I can't love what he's become."

He raised his eyebrows for a moment, not replying immediately. "So...ye're by my side still why?"

"I'm still here because I choose you, Jack." She murmured, glancing at him longingly. "I'm sorry about what happened with the Kraken."

She grabbed his head in her hands, hoping he wouldn't pull away after the last time as she kissed him with more passion than she knew she had. He awkwardly sat up without breaking the kiss, letting out a couple of painful groans. The ship tilted sideways as the maelstrom pulled on the hull. The two of them were forced to pull apart.

"We need to get out of 'ere." Jack's dark eyes scanned the area.

Elizabeth got to her feet, nodding. "I know, Jack."

She held out her hand and he took it, letting her pull him up. He adjusted his hat comfortably before looking at the hole the sword had made through him. His chest and shirt were soaked with not just water, but a crimson red liquid. So was his black jacket, but, of course, it being black made it hard to tell. He frowned, knowing that it wouldn't end well if he lost too much blood before he got back to the Pearl. He spotted her watching him and looked up.

"This isn't goin' to be fun, is it?" He asked, knowingly.

She shook her head. "Then we might as well get it over with. Come on, Jack."

"Right then." He nodded. "Let's go."

*X*

They made their way through the fighting men, dodging sword swings. They reached the edge of the deck, the one that was tilted upwards on the outer edge of the maelstrom. Jack thought hard, trying to come up with ideas of how to get off board the ship. He saw the Pearl sailing away from the maelstrom, men rushing to tend wounds and make sure the ship was in good condition. The Dutchman tilted sideways even more and he fell to the deck. He used the railing to get back to his feet.

He knew what their only option was. "We have to jump."

"What?" Elizabeth gave him an are-you-serious look.

"Ye heard me." He responded. "It's the only option."

"But what if we get pulled in?" She asked.

"We won't." He assured her sternly.

"But, Jack-" She tried to say, but was interrupted.

He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him, though she looked away.

"Look at me." His voice was uncharacteristically soft. She obliged, glancing at him. "We'll be fine. I promise." The ship shook as it tilted even further. He grabbed the railing with one arm as they slipped, his other grabbing hers. The pain in his chest burned even more. His voice was forced as he said,"We need to go. Now."

She nodded as Jack lifted her to reach the railing. She grasped it tightly. "Now what?"

"Climb onto the hull." He ordered, switching hands to look at the other one.

Then he grasped it with both hands, struggling worse than she did to pull himself onto the wooden surface. She got up with little difficulty, uneasily making her way over to him, who hung limply, panting. He didn't have the strength in his injured body to climb onto the side of the ship. Not alone.

"Jack! Give me your hand." Elizabeth told him, reaching hers down to him.

With his remaining strength, he lifted himself up as close to the railing as possible and grasped her hand in his. She gripped his with her other one, moving backwards as she pulled him up. He slid up over the wooden railing and onto the smooth, wet wood of the ship's hull. He lay there for a moment, regaining his breath.

"Thanks, love." He gave a small smile of gratitude as he got to his feet, unsteadily.

"No problem, Jack." She returned the smile.

"Right then…" Jack took a few steps away from the edge. "We have to jump."

"How can either of us jump that far?" She gestured at the now bigger gap between the ship and flat water.

"I can give ye a boost." He answered thoughtfully after a moment.

"What about you?" Elizabeth asked.

He smiled. "I have me ways, love. I can do it. Ye're first, savvy?"

"Alright, Jack." She gave in.

He walked over to the very edge of the ship, gesturing with his head. "Run right past me, I'll boost ye further. On the count of three."

"On the count of three." She agreed with a nodd.

"One." He said after a moment, knowing he wouldn't get off the ship before something went wrong.

"Two." She positioned herself to run and he braced himself to boost her.

"Three." He finished, reluctantly.

Elizabeth raced towards him as soon as he said it. As she reached him, he lifted one of her feet up, pushing it into the air and pushing her back so that she flew forward. He saw her land just beyond the maelstrom's reach. Before he could move, the ship completely turned sideways. He heard the roaring of water as he and the Dutchman were swallowed up.

*X*

"Noo!" Elizabeth screamed as she reached the surface of the water and saw the ship capsize, sinking into the maelstrom.

"Elizabeth!" Gibbs shouted from the Pearl, waving to her.

She looked in the ship's direction and began swimming towards its black sails.

*X*

Jack's eyes snapped open as the water stung at them and his wounds. Making sure his jaw was clamped tightly, he pushed off the ocean floor, propelling up towards the surface of the water. He gasped, coughing as he reached the surface. The maelstrom had faded back into flat water and the sun was shining brightly again. He spotted driftwood nearby and put all of his effort into swimming over to it, though his strokes weren't as strong as normal.

He reached the driftwood and climbed onto it, lying on his stomach and coughing up water.

*X*

Elizabeth couldn't believe what she was seeing. Were her eyes tricking her? Jack was alive! Joy filled her and she smiled widely, watching him climb drift away from where the maelstrom had been. How had he survived? After a moment, she didn't care how he'd made it, but that he was alive. She only had one answer for her question

Captain Jack Sparrow was no ordinary man.