There was silence as Tia Dalma finished speaking. Monica looked around cautiously at the pale faces of the others in the room.

"Well!" she said abruptly, pushing her chair back from the table and standing up. "Looks like that's settled. Though I don't know why everyone looks so glum...this is gonna be great!"

She glanced at everyone at the room, suddenly self-conscious.

"Uh..." she said sheepishly, smiling shyly. "Just tryin' to lighten the mood..."

Everyone stared at her.

"Yeah," Monica muttered. "Um, do you have somewhere we can all sleep?" she asked Tia Dalma politely. "Oh, and...maybe some clothes for us?" she added, gesturing to herself and her sisters.

Tia Dalma stared at the teenaged girl, amused, and finally nodded. She rose from her chair and went into a back room whose doorway was draped with beads.

That's where Barbossa was, Monica thought quickly as she watched the witch rummage through the room through the beads. Not where we were. Hell, we could have been in her own bedroom or something...

She shook herself slightly and returned to reality. She turned to face the room, taking in all that she saw.

Will and Elizabeth stood on separate sides of the room. Will was still gripping the back of the chair, but he was staring at the ground. Elizabeth kept casting him hopeful looks, but when they weren't returned, she averted her tear-filled eyes. Gibbs stood next to her, looking grim but accepting what Tia Dalma had said. Cotton and Marty were next to him, both looking slightly worried. Next to them stood Alison, whose face was still deathly pale. She was staring at nothing in particular, but she seemed to be swaying a bit.

On the other side of the room, next to Will, stood Michelle. She, too, was staring into space, but she looked slightly more determined than Alison. She wasn't as pale, but she had a hand on the small of her back. Monica figured it was still sore from the painful fall she had taken.

Next to Michelle was Ragetti, and next to him Pintel. Monica mused at the irony of this, remembering Michelle's fondness of calling the former of the two "Spaghetti Ragetti."

And next to Pintel stood Barbossa. His eyes were sweeping the room, as Monica's were, but his were lingering on the faces of the people there, studying their faces. He seemed used to his environment, making Monica figure he had been up and about in Tia Dalma's shack before.

Monica shivered. Barbossa had never failed to creep her out. And now she was going on a sea voyage with him and his cronies to save Captain Jack Sparrow...this was just too strange.

But she was used to strange. She had been through this before, hadn't she?

As she pondered this, Monica's gaze fell once again on Pintel and Ragetti, who looked nervous under the stare of their former captain.

Oh, yeah, Monica thought wonderingly, studying the scene. They've been loyal to Jack throughout all of Dead Man's Chest...well, sort of, she thought grimly. Will they switch to Barbossa's side, or will they stay with Jack?

Monica was interrupted from her thoughts by Tia Dalma returning from the back room with a pile of clothes. Monica took them gratefully, smiling in thanks.

"Thank you...um, so where can we change...and sleep?" she said shyly.

"You can sleep in the room you came down from," Tia Dalma replied calmly. "But two of you will 'ave to sleep on da floor."

"Alright. Thanks," Monica said lamely, unsure of what to say. She turned, glanced at her sisters, and jerked her head towards the stairs.

Alison and Michelle moved from their places to join their younger sister. Monica led the way up the dark staircase, followed by Michelle and Alison, who came close behind.

They found themselves in the small room again. There was only one bed.

"Dibs!" Monica yelled, jumping on the bed, tossing the clothes aside.

Alison and Michelle said nothing, but exchanged glances. They watched Monica paw through the pile of clothes. Finally, she separated three shirts and three pairs of pants.

"I pick..." she muttered, frowning. Then, a smile spread across her face as she chose a cream-colored shirt and a pair of black pants.

Grinning, she stood up, only to meet her less-than-thrilled sisters.

"Well? Get dressed!" she said, as if there were no question about dressing into clothes from the 18th century to go on a pirating adventure.

"Monica..." Alison said softly, but then trailed off. She wasn't sure how to word her thoughts.

"What are we doing here?" Michelle whispered.

Monica looked crestfallen. "Aren't...aren't you excited?" she asked doubtfully.

Alison and Michelle looked each other yet again uneasily.

"Well, frankly, I'm not," Alison finally said bluntly.

Monica looked highly offended. "Why not?"

"Why not? Because we just got sucked into a movie--a movie set back in time, mind you--by our stupid old dryer!" Alison exploded. "And now we're expected to go off on some journey to rescue fictional characters? I have obviously gone CRAZY!"

"Keep your voice down!" Michelle hissed, her eyes darting to the door.

"Why? So the movie characters won't hear me!" Alison yelled furiously. "Don't tell me you believe this shit, too!"

Michelle hesitated, thinking. She didn't want to piss Alison off, but she didn't want to stay in denial, either.

Finally, she spoke. "I do believe it," she said firmly. "What's happening is happening, and I don't think there's anything we can do to help it. So I think we should just go along with it and see where it takes us. Monica's been through this before, so I know we can get through it, too."

Monica stared at her, awed. "So you don't think this is crazy?" she asked, her mouth open.

"Well, I still think it's crazy, but what am I gonna do about it?" Michelle said softly. She moved to the bed and picked up a white shirt and black pants.

Alison watched her in disbelief. Michelle sat next to Monica on the bed, placing the clothes in her lap. The two younger Connors sisters looked up at the elder in unison, hope in one's eyes, determination in the other's.

Alison rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. "I'm going crazy. That's all. I'm just going crazy..."

She moved to the bed and picked up the remaining clothes, brown pants and a white shirt.

Monica let out a cheer. "This is so exciting!" she squealed, letting the fangirl in her get the best of her.

Michelle and Alison couldn't help smiling. Michelle laughed, and Alison shook her head.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Will came in the door, looking apprehensive.

"Are you alright? We thought we heard some yelling," he said, looking at the three girls curiously.

"Yes, we're fine, thanks," Alison said politely, taking charge. Monica had nearly fallen off the bed in surprise, and Michelle had frozen in her place next to her.

"She says one of you can change downstairs in one of the rooms," Will said, nodding back down the stairs. Monica took him to mean Tia Dalma, but her mind was elsewhere...

"Michelle, why don't you go downstairs with Will?" she said suddenly, plastering a smile on her face.

"What?" Alison asked, frowning. What was she doing, volunteering her sister to go?

"What?" Michelle said nervously, turning to Monica, who was still grinning.

"Yes, just go ahead with Will," Monica said pointedly, "and Alison and I will change in here and the next room," she continued, looking pleased with herself.

"But--I can--" Michelle began.

"That's okay. Just go change, we'll be fine," Monica said, standing up and pulling Michelle with her. She pushed her sister towards Will, who was waiting in the doorway. Michelle blushed when she looked at him.

"Ta-ta!" Monica said, ushering them out the door and onto the staircase. She shut the door behind them and jumped up and down silently, looking ready to squeal again.

"What was that all about?" Alison asked, disgruntled by her sister's sudden elation.

"Oh, nothing, just hooking them up," Monica sang, moving to the floor where she had dropped her clothes.

"What the f--" Alison took a deep breath before managing to calm herself down. "What do you mean, 'hooking them up'? He's not real!"

Alison only grew more furious as Monica ignored her.

"Besides, doesn't he have Elizabeth?" Alison asked, smirking.

Monica froze. True, Will probably wasn't feeling too chummy towards Elizabeth at the moment, but she definitely thought they should end up together--she hated Sparrabeth shippers with a passion.

"I didn't think of that," she muttered, not looking at Alison. "And we're leaving in thirty days...okay, so I didn't think it through. I'm sorry. But what damage is him taking her downstairs gonna do, anyway?"

When Monica shut the door behind them, Will and Michelle descended the dark staircase.

Will spoke first. "So, how's your back?" he asked tentatively over his shoulder--the stairs weren't wide enough to fit two people walking abreast.

"Oh, it's...fine, I guess...to tell the truth, I haven't really thought about it, my mind's been on...other things..."

Will smiled. "I know what you mean. This whole meeting has been so distracting, I almost forgot you weren't...from here."

He stopped at the bottom of the steps, unsure if he had offended her or not. But when she came out of the stairway, she was smiling.

"I'm not that strange," she joked. "Just because I'm from the future and I know most of your life story doesn't mean I'm a freak or anything."

Will gave a little laugh as he led Michelle to a door.

"Well, this is it," he said rather lamely.

"Exciting," Michelle said, smiling up at him. His eyes locked on hers for a moment, but then looked away nervously.

"Well, I'll go get changed, then," Michelle said, sensing his discomfort. The two exchanged one last smile and fleeting glance before she entered the room.

It was basically like the rest of Tia Dalma's shack, with the strange objects hanging from the ceiling and the miscellaneous items strewn about the room, but it did have a couple of cots set up. Michelle guessed that this would be were more of the group would be sleeping.

It's just like an odd slumber party, she mused as she changed. Except without the truth or dare, hair braiding, and raiding the fridge in the middle of the night...

She grinned as the image of pirates looting a fridge popped into her mind. When she was done changing, she gathered her "future" clothes in a pile and exited the room.

She left the way she came, suddenly nervous about getting lost in the shack.

It sure didn't look this big in the movies, she thought, edging around a table piled with assorted jars and boxes.

Smiling, Michelle remembered Captain Jack Sparrow's infamous jar of dirt.

Maybe Will and I will get one, she thought. Will and I...

She couldn't help blushing as she thought about him. Sure, she thought he was dreamy, being played by Orlando Bloom and all--but he's not being played; here he's a real person, Michelle thought--but that didn't mean she would like him like that--did it?

She decided she would blame the whole thing on Monica.

Michelle finally reached the large room they had all been gathered in before. She noticed that Gibbs, Cotton, Marty, Elizabeth, and Will were still there, talking quietly, as well as Barbossa, Pintel and Ragetti, who seemed to be having a conversation of their own.

With her mind on these two groups, marveling that she was in the same room with them, she didn't notice Tia Dalma step out of the shadows next to her. The voodoo lady touched her arm lightly, but Michelle jumped anyway.

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you," Michelle stammered, her heart beating a mile a minute.

Tia Dalma smiled, revealing blackened teeth. "'sno mattah. I only wanted ta speak wid you."

"Um, okay," Michelle said nervously, gripping her clothes more tightly to her.

Tia Dalma smiled again, wider this time, and led the way to the room she had been in before, the one with the beads over the doorway.

Michelle followed cautiously, moving the beads aside with a free hand. She looked around in awe, her mouth slightly open.

The room was lined with shelves, each one packed with all sorts of odd items. Michelle saw jewelry, ancient-looking tomes, dead animals, unrecognizable items in jars, rags, clothes, and even something she thought looked like a live python.

Now terrified, Michelle moved slowly into the room, her eyes darting around warily.

Something ran across her bare feet.

She screamed in surprise, jumping backwards and landing on a low couch-type piece of furniture. She looked at the ground to see Jack the monkey looking up at her quizzically.

"Get out of 'ere!" Tia Dalma said sharply. For a moment, Michelle thought she was talking to her, but then she realized she was gesturing angrily to the monkey.

Jack didn't budge, still staring at Michelle. His head cocked, he sat back and screeched.

Michelle jumped, but Tia Dalma rolled her eyes. "Ah, 'e's not doin' any 'arm," she muttered, waving Jack away. He gave Michelle one last curious look, then leaped up onto the table next to the couch Michelle was on.

What is this, her bed? Michelle thought wonderingly, looking around. Then, she realized that this was the couch Barbossa had been laying on the first time Jack and company had come to Tia Dalma's shack.

She froze, a wave of dizziness sweeping over her. She took a few deep breaths to calm down.

You're fine, you're fine, she thought to herself, closing her eyes. It's no big deal...there was just a dead guy on this for a while, that's all...

Michelle's eyes snapped open as Tia Dalma spoke.

"How's your back?" she asked. Michelle realized she was sitting in a chair across the table.

"Fine, thanks...but I don't think I told you what--"

"You didn't," Tia Dalma said simply.

Michelle stared at her.

The witch smiled. "You don't 'ave ta tell me anyting, miss. Now, I wanted ta talk to you about something on your 'and."

"My hand?" Michelle repeated nervously.

"Yes, your 'and," Tia Dalma said. "Gimme it."

Michelle dubiously extended her right arm towards the woman, but she held up a finger.

"Udder 'and," she said, smirking.

Staring, Michelle gave her left hand to the voodoo woman.

Tia Dalma said nothing as she flipped Michelle's hand over, inspecting her palm. A smile spread over her face as she traced her lifeline.

"Ahh," she breathed, running her finger along the tiny crease in the girl's hand. "Yes. Dis is it."

"This is what?" Michelle asked, alarmed.

"Your lifeline," Tia Dalma said shortly.

Michelle waited. She knew about her lifeline; there had to be more that the witch had to say.

Sure enough, there was. Tia Dalma gestured for Michelle to lean across the table, pointing to her palm. Michelle obeyed, laying her clothes next to her on the couch.

When she was leaning over the table, Michelle glanced up at Tia Dalma, whose eyes were on her palm. She looked down to watch her long finger trace her lifeline.

Michelle watched solemnly as Tia Dalma reached the break in the line, the gap that interrupted the crease in her hand.

"'ow long 'ave you 'ad dis?" Tia Dalma asked, her glance flicking up to Michelle and back to her palm again.

"As long as I can remember," Michelle said softly, looking at the woman steadfastly. "Why?"

"I tink dis will come into play during your time 'ere," Tia Dalma said slyly. "Do you know what it means?"

Michelle shook her head, entranced by this woman. How had she known about her broken lifeline? It's not like she could have seen it...no one could have seen it.

"Dis is your lifeline. It goes on well until about 'ere, where it veers off ta one side. Den, dere is nutting...den, it picks back up again, on a different side," Tia Dalma said, tracing her finger along the line as she spoke. "It means your life will come to an end, briefly, but you will come back...doh in what manner, I do not know."

Michelle looked up at her, alarmed. "You mean...am I going to die here?" she asked.

"It's very likely."

"But I'll...come back? What do you mean?"

Tia Dalma shook her head. "I do not know. You may not even die here. It's just a guess. I chose ta warn you, doh. And I tink you would do well ta warn the udders, too. Dey may do someting rash if dey tink you're--"

"Dead," Michelle said hollowly. "I'm going to be dead, and come back to life..."

There was a silence. Tia Dalma released Michelle's hand and leaned back in her chair. Michelle remained in the same position, too wrapped up in her thoughts to move.

Suddenly, the beads clinked together as someone moved them aside. Michelle jumped and swung her head around to see Barbossa standing there.

Jack screeched. He leaped on the couch behind Michelle, making her gasp, and jumped up onto his master's shoulder.

"Sorry to bother you," Barbossa said, his raspy voice low. "I thought I would find Jack in here."

"An' ya did," Tia Dalma said, smiling at Barbossa warmly.

Barbossa returned the smile, nodded to Michelle, and exited the room.

Michelle took a deep breath, thoroughly shaken by seeing that man before her. Yes, it was true, she had thrown down a juice box in anger when she had seen him on the big screen--which had been pretty funny, actually--but now, she couldn't exactly have an angry outburst every time she saw Barbossa.

"I tink it's time you got ta bed," Tia Dalma said suddenly.

Michelle nodded, hardly sure of what she was doing. She picked up her clothes and stood.

"Thank you for the clothes and the place to stay," she said seriously, breathing hard. "And...for the...advice."

She turned and exited the room, not bothering to move the beads out of the way as she left.

She felt numb. What was she talking about, with me dying and coming back to life? she thought, staring at the floor as she made her way back to the staircase. Could she be telling the truth? But what would she gain by lying to me about my fate?

Michelle nearly ran into the door because she was so distracted by what had just happened. She groped for the handle and swung the door open.

She found Alison and Monica talking quietly in the room, and she was forcefully reminded of the two groups she had seen standing separately downstairs.

"Hey," Michelle said softly. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing much," Alison shrugged.

"Yeah, Alison still thinks she's going crazy," Monica said, grinning.

"Ah. Well, that was to be expected," Michelle replied, smiling weakly.

Alison frowned. "What's the matter? You look like you're about to faint again," she said, looking concerned.

"Nothing happened with Will, did it?" Monica said, suddenly looking alarmed.

"No...no," Michelle, staring ahead of her. "I'm just tired," she said, smiling at her sisters.

Monica nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, we've had a pretty tiring day. I was pretty zonked after my first day."

Alison rolled her eyes. "You want us to ask what happened, don't you?" she asked, smiling at her younger sister.

Monica nodded eagerly, grinning.

"Well, you don't have to drop giant hints anymore. Tell us what happened," Alison said.

Monica looked pleased. "Alright! Where to begin? Okay, it all started that day you went shopping for dresses for the wedding..."

She continued to tell them about her adventure in the Pirates world, from when she had landed on the Pearl to when she left Jack sitting on a makeshift raft after she had kissed him. Alison looked amused throughout, but was at least a better listener than Michelle, who seemed distracted.

Monica was oblivious, wrapped up in the past, when she had gone on so many adventures with Jack. "Isn't that exciting?" she asked earnestly.

"Wow. You did all that?" Alison asked, impressed.

Monica nodded proudly. "God, it was so much fun...probably the best time of my life...she trailed off, and her gaze fell on Michelle. "Aren't you impressed?" she asked, pretending to be about to cry.

Michelle nodded. Although she hadn't reacted much to what her sister had said, she had indeed been listening. "Yes...yes, yes I am," she said quickly, not wanting her sisters to notice how distracted she was.

Monica and Alison noticed, of course. They figured it was just her energy running low.

"So, how did things go with Will?" Monica asked, grinning.

"What?" Michelle said. "Oh, that," she said, smiling. "Nothing exciting...he just walked me to the room..."

"That's it?" Monica said, sounding disappointed. Alison rolled her eyes.

"Monica, we already discussed this," she said, shaking her head.

"I know, but it's still cool," Monica said seriously. "So did you talk or anything?" she asked Michelle, leaning forward earnestly.

"What, am I in high school again or something? I could have sworn I've already graduated," Michelle said, grinning.

"Hey, this is a special case!" Monica said, looking offended.

"Yeah, you might never get a chance to hook up with Orlando Bloom again," Alison smirked.

"Look, all that happened was talking," Michelle said, grinning sheepishly now. "But it doesn't even matter anyway, because he's got Elizabeth."

"Which is exactly what I said!" Alison exclaimed.

"Heh...don't look at me!" Monica said innocently, shrugging and splaying her hands out, palms up. "So was he waiting for you after you changed?"

"No, I just left...and then..." Michelle trailed off, her eyes falling on Monica's palms.

"And then what?" Monica asked, mollified, dropping her hands.

"Nothing. I mean, and then I walked back up here," Michelle said quickly. If there was one talent she prided herself on, it was her ability to lie to people's faces.

"Darn," Monica said, snapping her fingers. "Ah, well...now we just need to work on setting Alison up with Gibbs..."

"What!" Alison shrieked.

Michelle and Monica laughed at her alarmed expression. Monica flopped onto the bed, stuffing her clothes far underneath it.

Michelle stared at her strange behavior.

"Don't ask," Monica said, remembering the time she had accidentally thrown up on her own clothes.

Michelle shrugged and turned to Alison.

"So where are we going to sleep?" she asked.

Just as Alison shook her head, there was a knock on the door.

Monica sat bolt upright on the bed, her eyes glinting. Alison grinned at her, and then called, "Come in!"

Tia Dalma entered the room, holding pillows and blankets. Alison noticed a look of disappointment on Monica's face and a look of apprehension on Michelle's.

That's strange, she thought as she walked up to the voodoo woman. What does she have to fear from Tia Dalma?

"Thank you," Alison said gratefully to Tia Dalma, who smiled politely at her. Her gaze slid to Monica, who was sitting on the bed, and finally to Michelle, who was watching her warily.

Please, please don't say anything! Michelle thought silently.

"Good night," was all Tia Dalma said before picking up her heavy skirts and exiting the room.

"Whew, I wasn't looking forward to sleeping on the wood," Alison said, not noticing Michelle's breath of relief. She handed Michelle a pillow and a couple thick blankets.

Michelle took them and stared at them for a while, collecting her thoughts. She didn't want Alison and Monica to know anything about what Tia Dalma had said to her yet, not wanting them to worry.

I know I'll have to tell them sometime, she thought, dropping the bedding onto the floor. Just not yet.

She spread one of the blankets out on the floor, dropped the pillow onto it, and draped the other blanket on top, forming a nice little pallet. A few feet away, Alison did the same.

There was silence for a moment as the Connors sisters reviewed the day in their minds.

"So, Alison, do you have a problem with this anymore?" Monica asked cautiously.

"What, you mean being in a movie world?" Alison replied, yawning. "Nah, I think I'm getting used to it, actually."

"Good," said Monica. "Because I was going to go through with this whether I had your approval or not."

Alison smiled and lay down on her makeshift bed. "Yeah, I figured...but I just can't understand how comfortable you are here."

"Yeah, well, I've done this before," Monica said, smirking. "But the time before...no, actually, I adjusted pretty well," she mused, frowning. "Hmm. I guess you guys are just idiots or something."

"Or something," Alison muttered, grinning. "Well, I know you'd have to be, trying to hook me up with Mr. Gibbs...so who are we hooking you? up with, Monica? Pintel? Ragetti?"

"Haha, no, I don't think so," Monica said, grinning. "That reminds me...do you think they'll be loyal to Jack or Barbossa when they get the chance?"

Alison pondered this. "I don't know...they did maroon Jack when they sided with Barbossa...but they agreed to rescue him even before Barbossa was in the picture..."

"I saw them all talking when I was downstairs," Michelle said suddenly. "Pintel, Ragetti, and Barbossa."

"Great. Well, if they're all together, they'll turn against me, too, because there's no way I'm leaving Jack behind," Monica said, sounding determined.

"Well, that settles that, then," Alison said, grinning.

"Settles what?"

"Who you're getting together with. Jack, obviously."

"Shut up! He's my friend!" Monica said, but she couldn't help grinning, too.

"Well, yeah, you kissed him, didn't you?" Michelle said slyly, her spirits rising. "And he kissed you back!"

"No--that was because--" Monica said, frustrated. "Aw, just shut up! We need to get some sleep, anyway. We've all got big days ahead of us."

"Tell me about it," Alison muttered. "I'm going to Port Royal...freaking Port Royal...man, this is weird..."

"Yeah, and I'm going to save Captain Jack Sparrow with his enemy, Barbossa!" Monica quipped. "All in a day's work..."

"And I'm going to face Davy Jones to save Will Turner's father," Michelle said softly.

There was an awkward silence.

"See, I told you we needed sleep," Monica joked feebly. "Now we're getting anxious about tomorrow...just think about...something else..."

And she had drifted off to sleep in the next few moments.

Alison lay awake for a while, trying not to think about the danger they were about to get into. Finally, however, her mind drifted off into a dream of yesteryear, and she too was asleep.

Sleep was not so easy for Michelle. She could rarely sleep, anyway, and she hardly expected she would get any tonight. What with being sucked into Pirates of the Caribbean through her old dryer, learned that her sister had gone through the same thing and kept it all a secret, been sent on a mission to save a fictional character, and been told that she would die and come back to life all in the same night.

No, she definitely wouldn't be getting any sleep.