A/N Hello my loyal readers! I ended up having to cut this chapter short and split this part in two. I've decided that this story is better when I switch up POVs. Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring. But I feel like it keeps the story going. Next chapter will be a little bit more Will/Maria less from the movie. I hope you guys are liking their interactions with each other. I'll try to update soon! Thanks! JTD

Tia Dalma had come through for them. The crew of the Black Pearl had returned to their ship with a new heading: The Flying Dutchman. By the time they reached the Pearl, it was night and the sky was dark and cloudy. While most of the crew quickly prepared for sail, Will walked along deck to find Maria. He needed some more answers. The visit to Tia Dalma had been all too revealing for him. On the boat ride back to the Pearl, Maria was silent. She didn't make eye contact with anyone. She barely moved. Will couldn't help but feel concerned. He'd spent so long trying to hate her.

He found her at the bow standing next to the railing. Her long thick brown hair, tinted gold from the sun, blew in the wind. Her deep brown eyes were intently focused on the water. He couldn't help but smile to himself at her incredible natural beauty. He fought the urge to approach her from behind, wrap her up in his arms and hold her to him. Instead he slowly walked toward her, placing his hands on the railing next to hers. She made no acknowledging motion to him. She just continued staring blankly out to open sea.

"Are we able to talk to each other now? Like civilized adults instead of stubborn jilts?" he asked.

He wasn't sure she would respond. She didn't even express that she heard him.

"Maria, I must apologize."

"Don't"

"But I must. I accused you of breaking promises and - "

She turned to face him. Her face was expressionless.

"I said, don't, Will."

He could only look at her befuddled.

"Wouldn't it be magnifico if just once, the past could stay the past?"

"I assume you're speaking of your family's secrets now?"

"Yes."

"No matter what has happened in our past, Maria, I will always listen when you need to talk."

She smiled.

"That's reassuring. I thought you hated me."

"I won't lie to you, Maria. I did try."

There was a soft silence that swept between them as the ship went underway. He saw her close her eyes as if she was preparing to speak.

"I had assumed that the Aztec gold was the only family secret that I was burdened with. Now I find out that I'm tied to another."

"And it has to do with Davy Jones and Jack taking you from Port Royal?"

She nodded.

"Many years ago. I was but four or five. My father's grandmother – Caly Cortez – disappeared without a trace. She left no note, no belongings, no trail. I didn't remember until Tia Dalma spoke of Davy Jones' vexation."

"Why do you think you remembered it at that moment?"

"On the day of my great-grandmother's disappearance, my mother told me that Caly Cortez only married my great-grandfather because a certain sailor had jilted her. My mother believed that she disappeared to seek revenge on him."

"And you think that sailor is Davy Jones? Maria, you can't be serious."

"Why not? Jack thinks so, too. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

Will pondered her notion. It was definitely plausible. Jack was the type to use others for his own personal gain.

"Jack needed me for protection."

"Protection? Because this Caly Cortez was the woman that Davy Jones was in love with?"

Maria nodded.

"And he would never dream of hurting her flesh and blood..." Will continued.

"Exactly."

"It could be possible."

"It could be absolutely correct," Jack said from behind them surprising them both.

"Jack," Maria whispered.

"It seems we've arrived," Jack announced.

Maria and Will turned their attention to the ship they had just pulled up next to. Will was a little taken aback. It was nothing but old ruins. Just remnants of a magnificent ship he had heard about.

"That's the Flying Dutchman? She doesn't look like much," he commented.

"She doesn't look like anything," Maria added.

"Neither do you two lovebirds. Never underestimate her," Jack said.

Will and Maria looked at each other, mentally preparing for the next step in this journey.

"So what's your plan?" Jack asked Will.

Will took a deep breath.

"We row over and search the ship until we find your bloody key."

"And if there are crewman?"

"We cut down anyone in our path," Maria interjected patting the handle of her sword.

"I like it. Simple, easy to remember," Jack responded.

It was time to move. Will and Maria headed toward the railing where a long boat had been prepared for them. Will helped Maria aboard before entering himself.

"And if you get captured, just say that Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt. Might save your life," Jack suggested before they were lowered into the water.

Will took hold of the oars and began rowing.

"Why do I have a feeling it won't be so simple, Will?"

"Because with Jack nothing ever is. Don't worry. You're not alone remember?"

He saw a small smile form on her lips.

Before long they were on the main deck of what was left of the Flying Dutchman. Will found a lantern and lit it. Maria gasped at the sight of the deserted ship. Burning flesh and corpses in various stages of decomposition. The wood was nearly rotted out with years of being unused. He felt Maria's hands wrap tightly around his arm. He had never seen her so frightened. Usually, Maria was so level headed and fearful of nothing. But something had her spooked.

"Will! Look!"

He looked in the direction she pointed him to and was unnerved to see a sailor pulling at a rope as if he was on a running ship. Hesitantly, Will and a terrified Maria approach the sailor who was mumbling a string of orders to himself, over and over.

"Sailor – it's no use. You've run aground," Will said.

For the first time since their arrival to the Dutchman, the sailor stopped pulling at the rope. He looked at the two new-comers with terror in his eyes. Will felt Maria's grip on his arm tighten.

"No! Beneath us. Foul breath."

The sailor kept on pulling and repeating orders to himself, much to the confusion of both Will and Maria.

"Will, what have we done?" Maria whispered into his shoulder. He could feel her tension. He wished he could assuage it somehow.

But he had no time to ponder that notion. Behind them they heard a loud thud. Maria screamed in spite of herself. They turned around and saw a still-moving body face down below the main mast. Slowly, they went to investigate further. He turned the body over not sure what he would discover. Both he and Maria jumped back at the sight of a face that had been smashed in like a suction.

They had no time to examine further for the wind picked up and both of them were unnerved by eerie organ music. They heard a rumbling from the ocean.

Suddenly, out from underneath the surface of the sea, a ghastly ship shot out of the water.

'The real Flying Dutchman,' Will thought.

Then crew members began to literally come out of the wood-works. Fish- and crustacean-like men of all shapes and sizes appeared, surrounding Will and Maria. Will could literally feel Maria's terror emanating from her body. This was not like the Aztec curse. This was far deeper than either of them had imagined.

One of the crewman, with the head of a hammerhead shark, grabbed at Maria, causing her to scream. Instinctively, Will fought them off. He yanked Maria back into his hold. He broke his lantern on the deck, causing a small fire to build a protective block for them. He then dipped his sword in the loose kerosene and ran in through the fire, challenging the fish men. They laughed. This ruse wasn't working.

"No!" he heard Maria shout before he was hit over the head with a boom.

His last thought before reaching temporary unconsciousness was of Maria and her undeniable natural beauty and his need to protect her at all cost.