Will stared at the dagger in his hands, pondering the sad mess his life had become. Once, he had resigned himself to the fact that he could not have the woman he loved. He knew that some well situated man like James Norrington would have Elizabeth. He prepared himself for the day he, along with the whole town, would show up to watch the governor's beautiful daughter marry some rich young man, or perhaps even an old man. It wouldn't matter much, as long as he was rich. Yes, Will knew it would happen eventually, and he had long since given up on ever having the woman he loved.

What he had not prepared for was having her, and then losing her again. He had not prepared to lose her on his wedding day. That was when it started. Jack Sparrow had been long gone then, any interest he might have had in Elizabeth probably long dead, long drowned out by rum and Tortuga's women. Then, to be arrested, with her, on his wedding day, on account of Jack Sparrow, was a huge shock. But the really horrible part was that he now knew that their arrest had been the beginning of a chain of events which would lead to him losing Elizabeth.

When he found Jack, the pirate seemed to hardly remember Elizabeth; sometimes he couldn't even seem to remember her name. But to Will, Jack's forgetfulness seemed forced and fake, as if he wished he had forgotten as much as he pretended to. When Jack tricked him onto Jones' ship, Will half wondered if Jack would then go get Elizabeth out of jail and seduce her into a pirate's lifestyle. He was aware that Elizabeth had always had a thing for pirates. He remembered the horror of finding Elizabeth's wedding dress on the Edinburgh Trader and realizing that Elizabeth had gone to Jack rather than the other way around. He had been terrified by the thought that she and Jack were probably on the Black Pearl together even as the Trader went down, and that nobody would really care what they did together. Nobody on Jack's ship would interfere with Jack's relationships, even though they knew Will.

Will remembered how, when she greeted him with a kiss on the island where they were reunited, Jack had looked annoyed, almost as if he had some claim on her.

Will thought about how he had been heartbroken, but not surprised, to see Elizabeth kiss Jack. He remembered the relief of watching his rival pulled beneath the waves only moments later.

Will had been angry when Elizabeth indicated she wanted to get Jack back. She admitted only a short time later that she had killed him, and yet she wanted him back! Will didn't want to go, but he still loved Elizabeth, so he agreed.

They saved Jack, and though he felt a certain undercurrent between Jack and Elizabeth, Will felt that he could now win Elizabeth back. During the final battle, he asked her to marry him again, and after a moment of shock, she agreed. During a dull moment in the fighting, when the enemy had paused their boarding until they were on the upper side of the whirlpool, she quietly approached Jack and told him. He said something that Will couldn't quite hear, then bent and brushed his lips lightly on hers. It seemed to almost be a "Goodbye, good luck" kiss, and Jack grinned at Elizabeth, then turned away. Moments later, Jack was on the mast, dueling Davy Jones himself. He eventually had knocked Jones down, and from there had transpired a series of events that left Elizabeth lying on the deck dying. She was dying, and she was completely ignoring Will, focusing the last of her energy on Jack. He said something to her in a whisper, then he kissed her.

When Jack pulled back, Elizabeth was dead.

Will had sat sobbing on the deck while Jack walked by him without a glance. He had tried to accept it, but the hard part was that she odviously had died loving Jack, not him. He had been shocked and incredibly happy when Jack popped out of his cabin the next morning and declared that "Miss Swan" was alive and resting peacefully in his cabin. This was all the more shocking after the announcement last night that they could not go back to the world's end and save Elizabeth. Will had been ready to rush to her side, but Jack had scurried back to his cabin, and they could all hear the locks turn. Then Tia had explaind that it was Jack's love that saved Elizabeth and that it was very probable that they would be getting married.

Will left, a half formed plan filling his mind. He took only the chest Jones' heart had been in and the dagger. He rowed to the nearby island where they had buried Davy Jones.

That was where he was sitting now, thinking over his past. He turned the dagger over, thinking about Jones' story. He felt a sudden sorrow for the sea devil who he had killed with this very dagger. He too had been destroyed by a fickle woman. Idly, Will pressed the blade to his chest, wondering why Jones hadn't died when he cut out his heart. Oh well, either he would live or he wouldn't. Either would be miserable. He dug the dagger in. When he held his heart in his hand, he felt numb with shock. His own beating heart, held in his hand! Carefully, lowered it into the little chest, then buried it in the sand, as low as he could get with just his hands and the bloodcovered dagger. Then, adjusting to the strange empty feeling, he walked to the edge of the sea and experimentally held up his hand.

Out of the deeps the Flying Dutchman appeared. On board, the few crewman who had still been on the ship when Jones died, and had thus not been released, stood looking at him.

Maccus stepped forward and raised a hand.

"Orders, Captain?"