Author's Note: So…how's everyone doing? Good I hope. Well, here I am with a new POTC story for you guys. This one takes place after OST, and the Black Pearl has been released from the bottle. The idea for this fic popped in my head yesterday after I got done with a job interview, and I didn't want to wave it away. Don't worry; I'm not abandoning any of my other stories. I'm actually halfway through a chapter for my other POTC fic that's in the works, so that will be posted soon.

Now, some of you, after reading this chapter, will probably notice that it has a similar aspect of my Remixed series. Well, this is kinda replacing that. I really don't plan on continuing those, mainly because they didn't get the reception that I wanted. So, unless someone's interested, I'm not continuing them. I don't like the fact I'm not, I really don't. Maybe I'll rewrite? I don't know…

Anyway, sorry about the long intro! Didn't meant to, but it happens. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or Captain Jack Sparrow. Though, I wish I did…I also don't own anything from The Price of Freedom by A.C. Crispin or anything from Linkin Park.

Update-April 8,2015: Hey everyone! As I said, I was gonna make a few changes. I did a tiny bit of research and changed the year that everything takes place. I also added a word that was missing, and it was bothering me...so hopefully this will fit in a little bit better.

Lost in Paradise

Chapter One:

~Tortuga, 1751~

I know what I want! I know what I want! I. Know. What. I. Want, Captain Jack Sparrow thought, shaking his compass around, hoping that the next time he opened it, the needle would point in a different direction. Instead, it pointed in the same direction it had been pointing the last five times—northwest. Following the direction it was pointing, his eyes came across his half empty bottle of rum. Grunting in irritation, he took a hold of the bottle and took a big gulp of the drink, feeling the warmth of it coursing down his throat. He at least got what he wanted…second most.

What he really wanted was to find the treasure that was hidden by the Templars during the Crusades, before they were disbanded. If there was one thing Jack was happy about, it was that he still held the copy of My Lyfe Amonge the Pyrates by Captain J. Ward that Teague had given him when he was younger. If he hadn't of found it when the Fourth Brethren Court had convened, then he wouldn't have remembered all of the legends mentioned in said book. He had already proved that the legend of the island of Kerma and the Heart of Zerzura were true, so why not prove them all correct?

Because that bloody wench seems to already know about one of them, he thought. Jack didn't think that Angelica Teach had told the truth when she mentioned a chest full of jewels that had the power to rule the wind and tides. He thought that she had made that up to keep him trapped on that God forsaken spit of land that the rumrunners used. But when he read through the book, it happened to mention that the Templars had found a similar chest, matching the description Angelica had barely given him.

Well, then…I'll just have to be the first to find it then, eh? Not like she's going after them any time soon.

Jack took another swig of rum, getting lost in his thoughts. He was so lost though, that he didn't see his good friend and loyal first mate Joshamee Gibbs walk right up to his table in the far corner of the tavern known as the Faithful Bride. When Gibbs had tapped Jack on the shoulder, it startled the pirate captain out of his stupor.

"Didn't mean to startle ye, Cap'n," the older pirate said. "Was wonder about a headin'?"

Jack's brow furrowed a little. "Oh," he said. He quickly closed his compass, only to open it again. This time, it was pointed eastward. He stood up and grabbed his beloved hat and place it on his head, and putting his compass back in its proper place on his belt, he said, "Gather up the crew, Mr. Gibbs, and head for the Pearl. We're headed east."

"Aye, Cap'n." With that, Gibbs ran off to find Marty, Mr. Cotton, and the rest of the crew of the Black Pearl.

Jack walked up the gangplank leading up to the deck of his ship and into his cabin. As he looked around, he removed his hat, coat, and effects and headed for his desk. As he sat down and propped his feet up, he took a swig of the bottle of rum he had left there earlier, allowing his eyes to take a quick sweep of the cabin. He almost thought he would never see it again. He couldn't stop from smiling.

Who knew that breaking the damn bottle would do the trick, he thought.

Gibbs and himself had been walking down that beach for hours when he had tripped over a large piece of driftwood and broken the bottle the Pearl had been trapped in. In a matter of seconds, his beloved ship was floating off shore before their very eyes. It was the best bit of luck the two of them had ever had.

Knowing that, the two of them set about releasing the other trapped ships, one by one, and selling them to prospective captains, even some to merchants. They made pretty penny in doing so.

Jack smiled at the memory, and took another swig of rum when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened, allowing Gibbs entrance into the cabin. "Orders, Cap'n?"

"Weigh anchor and hoist the sails, Gibbs. I'll be taking the helm."

"Aye, sir."

Jack finished off his bottle of rum and got up from his desk, grabbing his coat, hat and effects, and put them on. He headed out of the cabin and up the steps to the helm. Untying it, he took the wheel and carefully steered them out of the Tortuga harbor and into the open waters on the Caribbean. He opened the compass again to make sure they were still to head east. Sure enough, the compass needle did not veer in any other direction. Jack looked off into the open water, and turned the wheel to port and order for full canvas.

The Templars' treasure is as good as mine.

Little did he know that he was not the only one looking for the treasure.

xxx

~Caribbean Sea, 2012~

Isabella's POV

The only thing that could be heard in the galley was the sound of fingers typing on keyboards. Well, that's what I would imagine you could hear anyway. I didn't hear much except what Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park were singing in my ear. I had put my headphones on to block out any other disrupting noises so that I could concentrate on my work.

I was excited…no, that would be an understatement. I was stoked! For my externship, my professors had decided to let me tag along with a team of treasure hunters to assist in looking for lost Templar treasure. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Not many history, archaeology, and art majors got the opportunity to tag along with those sorts of teams, and they chose me. I didn't want to blow my chances, so I took to work immediately.

Who'd have thought that bringing my copy of My Lyfe Amonge the Pyrates by Captain J. Ward would be so useful! The archaeologists and treasure hunters on the team praised me for my quick thinking, and took to me very quickly. I got along with everyone, even the crew of the White Diamond. Sadly, my days of carefree living and being in front of a computer and radar machine, and helping the crew take care of the ship, were coming to a close. Actually, they already had. My externship ended three days ago, and I was being taken back to shore. But that didn't mean that I had to stop working, did it?

My thoughts were broken when I felt a hand shake my shoulder. I was startled and tore my headphones from my ears. I wish I didn't, but what someone was going to say to me was a lot more important than Linkin Park. I looked up to see who had startled me and saw the smiling face of one of the treasure hunters, and my close friend, Sarah.

"Sorry, Izzy," the red-head said. "I didn't mean to startle you, but you looked like you were about to fall into the computer screen. You find anything?"

I rubbed my eyes, and smiled. "I think I did, but it doesn't look like much."

Sarah's brown eyes lit up. "Really? What?"

"Well, I did some research. How long ago did you say it was since the last time someone tried for the Templar treasure?"

"Um…1720's I believe."

I smiled. "Check this out," I said, pointing to the screen. "It turns out that the last recorded hunt for the treasure was actually in 1751 by a pirate captain by the name of Jack Sparrow. He had a journal he kept hidden in his cabin. It wasn't found until about 10 years ago. But it had entries about the Templar treasure and a chest of jewels that supposedly hold the power to rule the wind and tides. It also holds accounts of other hunts for treasure and major battles. He apparently was quite the writer."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Sarah exclaimed. "Does it say who found the book?"

"It is currently in the hands of one of his descendants, named after the pirate himself," I said.

Sarah patted my back. "This is great, Isabella! If we get our hands on that journal, who knows what other treasures we can find! You're really starting to think like a treasure hunter."

I shrugged. "I'm just doing my job, and what I love. This is about pirates, and that's right up my alley."

The red-head laughed. "I know, I know. Hey, you think you can go and help above decks? There supposed to be a storm coming, and I don't really want to lose any of the equipment."

I closed the screen of the laptop and put my headphones away. I grabbed my messenger bag (what brought me to do that, I've no clue) and gave Sarah a small salute. "Aye, aye, captain!" I said.

She playfully slapped my arm and I ran up the galley steps up to the deck.

The White Diamond wasn't a big ship. Actually, you couldn't really call it a ship. It was about the size of a shrimp boat, and wouldn't do well in a major storm. So I ran up and helped the crew as much as I could to brace for the storm that was supposedly coming. I took a deep breath, and could almost smell the rain. It was a trick I learned from the crew, and since I had been with them for over a month, it came in handy. I at least knew when I could take a nap if I needed it.

My nose and the radio announcement we heard a few hours earlier were right. At around 11:00 that night, it was pouring cats and dogs, and the waves grew to be the height of houses and large factories, tossing the small boat around. I stayed up top to help the sailors maintain course and insure nothing fell off the boat, and to make sure it didn't topple over with the force of the waves. Sarah came up at one point to help, but she wasn't really fond of the weather. So it didn't surprise me one bit when she grabbed a hold of my arm and shouted, "We need to get below, now!"

"But, what about—?"

She interrupted me. "They'll be fine. But we won't be, so we need to go!"

I wanted to stick around and help, but I also wasn't going to argue with her either. So I walked around working sailors carefully as to not disturb them while they were working. Unfortunately, I didn't notice a rope lying on the ground, and I ended up tripping over it. I stumbled into the portside rail, which thankfully kept me from going over. I sighed at that, grateful I didn't topple over. But I thought too soon. A sailor had unintentionally bumped into me, and that sent me into the angry waves below.

I screamed as I went headfirst into the water. I quickly swam back up to the surface, coughing up water as I did. The raven hair of the wig I was wearing was plastered to my face, and I quickly looked around me. I heard someone shout, "Woman overboard!"

I looked in the direction of the noise, and saw the crew of the White Diamond scampering around, looking for a life preserver to throw out to me. I released a breath that I didn't know I was holding, pushed the wig off, and started to swim closer to the boat, which had been pushed further out because of the waves. As I got closer, though, it seemed that the boat was getting further away.

Did they not cut the engine off? I wondered. Surely they would have because of the storm.

I still swam toward the boat as fast as I could. But what I saw terrified me.

Lightning flashed, striking the small shrimp boat and catching it on fire. The fire spread from the mast down rather quickly, considering that it was pouring rain. In a matter of seconds, the entire boat was aflame.

That's not good. Against my better judgment, I swam closer as fast as I could. By the time I had gotten a third of the way there, the fire had reached the engine and boilers, causing the boat to explode.

"NO!" I screamed.

Then, all of a sudden, I was pulled under by the force of the waves. I struggled against them, breaking the surface several times, trying to catch my breath. I found a large piece of wood from the former White Diamond and grabbed a hold, trying to keep myself afloat. In my small victory, I never noticed a large piece of the boat floating towards my direction. Within seconds, the last thing I saw a flash of lightning, and then everything went black.

As if in a dream, I felt rough hands grab a hold of me and drag me out of the water.

xxx

~Caribbean Sea, 1751~

"MAN OVERBOARD!" someone from the crow's nest shouted.

Jack handed Cotton the helm, ordering him to keep the Pearl on course. He walked over to the portside rail to see who it was that had fallen overboard. Thankfully, for him, it wasn't anyone from the crew. He squinted to see who it possibly be. The body was face down in the water, so he couldn't be sure. But the tell-tale sign of long, flowing hair gave him the hint that it was no man in the water.

Dave's gonna need to get his eye's checked, he thought as he began to shed his coat and effects. He pulled himself up onto the rail and then dived into the water. He swam and grabbed a hold of the unconscious girl. Whistling to his crew, Jack grabbed the rope they threw to him, and, keeping a firm grip on the girl, he climbed back up onto the deck of the Pearl, carefully placing the girl on her back.

Jack was stunned. His eyes swept her form, taken in her strange clothes, the bag that was currently draped across her shoulder, and her hair that was plastered against her face.

Thinking quickly, he put his fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. He didn't find one, so he bent down and listened for any breath. Still, nothing.

"What's the mat'r, Cap'n?" one of the crewmen had asked.

Jack, trying not to roll his eyes, looked up and said, "She's not breathing, savvy?" He turned to the girl and began pushing on her chest. He did this at least 15 times before she began coughing up water. She sat up a little, and Jack helped her. Once the water was out of her lungs, she laid back down onto the deck. Jack watched her, and then to his crewmen, he said, "Get her some food and drink."

"Aye, Cap'n," they shouted.

Jack looked back towards the girl, watching to make sure she wasn't unconscious. Sure enough, her eyes were open slightly, and she was breathing. Her eyes, a deep blue, closed, but her breathing continued. Releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding, Jack picked the girl up and carried her to his cabin. At that moment, Gibbs had walked up to him and opened the cabin door. Both men walked in, with the captain walking over to his bed and laying her there. To Gibbs' surprise, his captain began undressing the girl.

"Er, Cap'n, are ye sure ye should be doin' that?" he asked hesitantly, knowing the answer already.

Jack turned to his first mate and said, albeit a bit bitterly, "Well, we can't let her catch her death now, can we, Mr. Gibbs."

Gibbs sighed and then looked around for a change of clothes for the poor girl. They got her dressed, and hung her clothes up to dry. Gibbs had grabbed an extra blanket for her so she wouldn't get cold, and they got her settled into the bed. By the time they were done, two men (the belligerent homunculus and his friend with the wooden eye, Jack thought) brought in some food and water and put it on the table. They looked toward the bed where the girl was sleeping, but one look from Jack told them to leave. For which they did.

"What now, Jack?" Gibbs asked.

"Now, we wait until she wakes," Jack said. "In the meantime, we continue on course."

"Shouldn't we stop to make repairs, Cap'n?"

Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. That strange lightning did do a number on the Pearl. Also need to check and make sure none of our supplies were damaged during the storm.

"Aye, Mr. Gibbs. Once the storm clears up."

"But it has, sir," Gibbs pointed out.

"Get to it, then, Gibbs," Jack said. "Before someone else finds the treasure, savvy?"

"Aye, sir." With that, Gibbs walked off, leaving Jack to care for the sleeping girl.

Jack put his effects and coat in a chair next to his desk. He walked over one of his cabinets and grabbed a bottle from his personal store of rum, and then made his way back to his desk. He sat down and propped his feet up on the table. Jack took a swig of rum and then focused on the girl, who turned towards him in her sleep.

Jack felt as though all his breath had left him. It hadn't dried yet, but in the glowing light, he could tell she had hair as dark as the wood of his table, with an odd white streak going down one side. It contrasted well against her pale skin, which was graced by a slight touch of pink on her cheeks. And her eyes…in the few seconds that she had them open, he could tell that they were a deep blue. They drew him in as much as the sea had. In his eyes, she was an absolute beauty. There was only one other who had made him feel like this, but she was dancing with the angels now.

Jack shook his head. No, can't be thinking of her, mate. That's past. This is present. The pirate captain looked around the room to avoid looking at the sleeping angel on his bed, until they came upon the bag she had been carrying with her.

Now, he wasn't normally one to snoop around another's belongings, but he had a natural curiosity that needed to be quenched. Who knows…maybe he could learn a little about the girl. So Jack grabbed the bag, opened it, and pulled out its contents. He found several strange things in her bag, things he had never quite seen before, but what really stood out to him was a book with a broken spine.

Well, I know she likes to read, he thought. He took a look at the book, which looked oddly similar to a book he had in his possession, minus it being damp from being in the water. As if to confirm his familiarity, he read the title of the book.

"'My Lyfe Amonge the Pyrates by Captain J. Ward'" he read, his eyes widening.

He carefully put the book on the table and headed for his chest. He rummaged through it searching until he found his copy of Captain Ward's book. Jack brought it with him back to his desk and compared both books. Both spines were broken in the same place and some of the same pages were dog-eared in the same spots, granted the pages in her copy were wrinkled from being wet. The spots where he had marked a certain legend true in his copy were present in her copy. Even his doodles making fun of Barbossa next to the legend of the treasure of Cortez were in her copy. From the look of it though, she seemed to add to them, and this caused him to smirk.

Has a sense of humor, it seems, Jack pondered as he stared at her additions. And talent.

Jack closed both books, pausing in his inspection. He looked over to his bed, to the girl who seemed to have an exact copy of his copy of Ward's book. "This can't be a coincidence," he said to no one in particular. He looked back at the books, looking at their identical covers. He opened them and looked at the inside of the cover. In the upper corner of both books, he spotted his own writing, his own name clearly written.

"Not possible," he said.

On her copy though, underneath his name and written in elegant letters was the name "Isabella Miles."

Isabella Miles, he thought. Must be her name.

Quickly, Jack placed her belongings back into her bag and stuck it into the chair across from him. He sat back into his chair behind his desk, propped his legs up and grabbed his bottle of rum. He took another swig of rum and continued to watch Isabella sleep.

Isabella, he thought. It's perfect.

A/N: There you have it. Thank you for taking the time to read it. Did you like it? Hate it (I hope not)? Please let me know your thoughts by clicking that review button. Please? Pretty please?

In case you're wondering, the song that Isabella was listening to by Linkin Park is called Lost in the Echo. It's from their new album, and happened to be listening to it when I was writing this, so it was put in there. Also, if you want to know more about it, let me know and I will tell you about The Price of Freedom by A.C. Crispin. It is going to have a lot to do with this story. You'll see :D

~Xanthe