Congrats to OpraNoodlemantra for noticing the DeLorean reference (for those of you who haven't seen Back to the Future, it is the time machine. That's also the reason the ship appears silvery) Congrats also to Mrs Capt Jack Sparrows who noticed the space-time continuum reference, which I had forgotten about! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em

Jack burst into the dusty Smithy to find a figure passed out on a chair. Jack decided if Mr.Brown and Bootstrap Bill had somehow had an illegitimate son, this would be what their love child would have looked like. His lip curled up in disgust at the figure in front of him. The middle aged man was leaning so far back in the chair we was nearly falling off. One arm was dangling on the ground, loosely holding onto an empty bottle of rum, the other draped across the his slightly bulging gut. His face had about a weeks worth of stubble on it and it was smeared with dirt and soot, and his greasy hair was completely disheveled. Occasionally a snore escaped his lips, as he shifted slightly in his sleep.

Jack cautiously made his way over to the man draped over the chair, and leaned in until their faces were mere inches apart. He studied the man's features to confirm his worst suspicions.

"Good God, man"

The sound of someone's voice so nearby caused the man to crack open his bleary, bloodshot eyes. After a moment of confusion, recognition dawned on the man's face, which was then quickly replaced by horror as the eyes shot open.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Both men leapt back simultaneously; Jack from the yell and the man from Jack. The man leaned back in his chair to get as far away from Jack as possible, which caused the chair to tip backwards and the man to unceremoniously tumble over and land on his backside. He then scooted across the floor on his hands and feet until his back ran into the wall and he could move no further. Finding no clear escape route, he decided his best option was to resume screaming.

Jack, ears still ringing from the initial yell, attempered to calm the man down. "Will...Will. WILLIAM!"

What Jack didn't realize was that when you wake from a drunken slumber to see a man that had been dead for years suddenly standing in front of you, it doesn't help the situation when the man starts shouting your name.

Jack finally gave up trying to snap Will out if it, and resigned himself to rolling his eyes and leaning against a post with his arms crossed waiting for him to scream himself hoarse, which he did in about 4 minutes. When Will finally regained his breath and got his voice back, he managed to stutter out a sentence.

"N-no! It can't be! "

"It can't?"

"Y-you're dead!"

"Oh right. That."

Jack looked down at the floor dejectedly, having been reminded that he technically shouldn't be existing at this time.

Will suddenly got a thoughtful and awed look on his face. "You-you're a ghost?"

Jack looked up quickly and somewhat annoyed. "No!"

Will's eyes went wide and then he quickly bowed his head like a schoolboy being scolded for a wrong answer. He stared at the floor a few moments before looking back up at the pirate. "But...but you're dead."

Jack heaved his shoulders in a great sigh. How was he going to explain this?

"There's actually a perfectly logical explanation as to why I'm here. I accidentally traveled to this time from twenty years in the past on a ghost ship that was struck by lightning, and is at this very moment sitting down in the harbor."

Will stared at Jack blankly for a few moments. "That was a perfectly logical explanation?"

Jack furrowed his brow. "'Course it is!"

Will squinted towards the pirate, scrutinizing him carefully. "Are you sure you're not a ghost?"

"If I was a ghost, would I be able to do this?" Jack strode over to Will, whipped out his cutlass and in a quick fluid motion, whacked Will across the shins with the broad side of it. Will sprang up with alarm and bent over to rub his bruised shins and received another blow across the backside. He quickly made for the door, but had only gotten a few steps out into the street before a commanding voice came from behind.

"Stop!" Will obeyed, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Now," Jack said in a calm, almost gentle tone, "Kindly turn your head to the left."

Will again did as he was told, and turned his head to see a strange silvery ship anchored in the harbor that had not been there earlier in the evening.

Will turned around to face Jack again, his mouth agape. "You're really from the past? But that's not possible!"

Jack sighed again and gracefully sheathed his cutlass to free up his hands to aid in explanation before he spoke. "Is a crew of undead skeletal pirates possible? Is Norrington and I switching places possible? Will, we really must work on your suspension of disbelief."

When Will had finally settled down a bit and tended to his bruised shins, Jack explained his little adventure in more depth, finishing with the discovery of his own death.

"So now that I've explained myself, how's about you do the same?" Jack with a sort of all-encompassing gesture.

Will sighed and to Jack's surprise let out a somber little chuckle. "You know, when I saw you when I woke up, I thought it was your spirit coming to punish me for not avenging what happened to you and for letting this happen to me."

Jack's face took on a serious expression, his eyes narrowing. "Will, what the bloody hell happened ?"

Will took a deep breath and prepared himself to fill Jack in on the past 20 years.

"Well it all began about a year after you got the Pearl back . . ."

I was a little off on my chapters. Will's Tale of Woe will be next chapter. My apologies! Reviews are appreciated!