Chapter Five

They all followed Jack down the twisting and turning streets towards the docks. Sharpay and Ryan couldn't help but smile when they saw the Pearl looming in the distance. It still looked the same since the last time they had seen it, nearly some six years ago when they were twelve, now they were nearly eighteen and it still looked as good as it had then. Sharpay glanced back at the gang to see that they had all ganged together and were looking around at the ships in wonder. She shook her head, the ships didn't awe her as they once had; spending nearly eight years amongst ships led one to be not that easily amused.

Ryan and Sharpay helped their friends onto the small boat that would be rowed out to the Pearl. They were so excited to finally be back on the ship they had heard their uncle talk nonstop about for years, the ship that had been home to them for one of them. Sharpay could barely contain her excitement as they came closer to the ship, she was shaking, something which Ryan noticed. He took her hand in his, smiled gently at her as they pulled up alongside the boat.

A line was cast down, Jack and the other two people took turns grabbing onto it before they were hoisted back on deck. Sharpay and Ryan pushed the gang ahead of them, knowing full well that they would have to show them the proper way to grab onto the rope. Once the five were on deck, Ryan and Sharpay both grabbed onto the rope, huge smiles on their faces as they felt themselves being pulled up to the deck. They landed on deck sturdily, as if they hadn't even left the ship. They looked over to see Troy and the gang wobbling slightly with the rocking of the boat. Ryan and Sharpay stood straight, moving with the current as they had been accustomed to. Sharpay was always a little bit better at the balance concept on the boat, after all, she had always been wearing heels and they were much harder to balance in than boots or regular shoes. It was one of the reasons why she almost never wore regular flat shoes at school, she never felt comfortable that way.

They looked around at the crewmates staring at them…not a single recognizable face in the bunch…something that concerned the two. They didn't have much time to think of it however, Jack was ushering them and their friends below deck towards the captain's quarters.

"Oh, Jack," Ryan said as Jack meandered into his office, "Before we start, I think you have something of mine."

"And mine," Sharpay added stepping up next to her brother, "And I do believe we'd like them back."

"Back? Like what back?" Jack asked fidgeting slightly.

Sharpay raised a delicate eyebrow at her uncle, fixing him in her sights. Jack looked around the room, as if trying to avoid the girl's gaze…he'd swear to the pirate gods, she had to be cursed with his sister's eyes…with the eyes of his mother…those eyes were able to get anything out of him. "Fine! Fine!" he shouted, "Alright…you win…"

He skirted around the room stopping by a small table and picking up the effects that Elizabeth recognized oh so well. He frowned at the sword and pistol before walking back towards the two blondes. "Here you are," he said, holding out the sword to Ryan. He grabbed the sword…but Jack's grip wouldn't relent. After a few more tugs, Jack finally let go. He had had some good fights with that sword…too bad it wasn't his.

"Et hem?" Sharpay cleared her throat, smirking at her uncle. He grimly held out the gun to her. She took it from him, opening it up to inspect it. "You used all my bullets?" she asked. Jack wasn't known as being the greatest shot in the world. He usually had to be only a few feet away from his target to even graze it. What would he use all the bullets on…he rarely ever used small guns anyway…he was much better at the rifle or some bigger gun like that.

"Jus one…" he said before walking over to his desk, grumbling under his breath about something, and pulling out a whole box of bullets, barely able to contain his smile at seeing his neice's face brighten.

Sharpay grabbed the box and with in a matter of moments, had the thing reloaded and safely nestled in the belt of her skirt. Jack smiled wider as he sat down by his table, feet on top, Sharpay and Ryan following suit as they sat before him, the rest standing around them. "Now," he started, "Shall we begin with where you two have been?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes, "Well, after you threw…"

"Tossed," Jack coughed.

"Tossed," Ryan corrected, "us into the whirlpool…we don't really know…we just…"

"Woke up as this huge ship was speeding towards us," Sharpay finished, "It was white, and made of some odd material that we had never before seen…"

"We were taken aboard by two people," Ryan added, "John and Amy Evans. They…adopted us…"

"Adopted?" Jack asked.

"They took us in," Sharpay answered, "Clothed us, fed us, changed our names…"

"What's wrong with yer names?" Jack butted in again.

"They thought we were crazy," Ryan answered, "Cause we were dress oddly and talked funnily, can you blame them? We were claiming that it was the 18th century."

There was silence in the room. Shock from the gang, that they were currently in the 18th century.

"But…" Jack started, "This is the 18th century…"

"We know," Sharpay said, "But where we were…it was the year 2000."

"2000!?" Jack shouted, his eyes wide.

"Yes, 2000," Sharpay explained.

"We still don't really know why we ended up there," Ryan added, "But we're so glad to be back home."

Sharpay nodded, "It's good to be back on the Pearl again…when are you supposed to give it back?"

Jack just laughed, "The Pearl is mine."

"Ahh," Ryan spoke, "So I see you've settled your debt with Jones?"

Jack nodded, "Had a nasty run in with the Kraken but…"

"Really?!" Ryan asked getting excited, "You saw the Kraken?! How big was it? What color was it? How long were its tentacles?"

He rambled on with a few more questions until Sharpay covered his mouth with her hand, "Forgive me brother," she said turning to the gang. Jack of course was quite accustomed to Ryan's ramblings, "He wants to be what you'd call a marine biologist."

"Really?" Gabriella asked, slightly shocked, she herself wanted to be a zoologist.

Sharpay nodded, "What else is there to do on the ocean than study it?"

"Anyhow," Jack butted in, "Had a nasty run in with the Kraken, but managed to straighten it all out with Jones…"

Someone behind them cleared their throats causing Jack to roll his eyes, "With some help from them."

Sharpay turned around to look at the other people in the cabin. "And…are you?" Sharpay asked, staring at the three people before her. She recognized the William guy but the woman and old man were strangers to her.

"Oh right," Jack said jumping up. He ran over to the old man, "This is Mr. Gibbs, me first mate."

"Pleasure," Ryan said politely.

"And this," he put his hand on the woman's shoulder, "Is Ms. Elizabeth Swann and her fiancé…" he moved over to William, "William Turner."

"Turner?" Sharpay asked, the name sounding familiar.

"Bootstrap's boy?" Ryan added, remembering now.

"Just the one," Jack said smiling at them.

"Um…speaking of Bootstrap," Sharpay started.

"What happened to the crew?" Ryan finished.

Sharpay nodded, "Where's Bo'sun?"

"And Weatherby?" Ryan added.

"Ketchum?"

"Maximo?"

"Monk?"

"Dog Ear?"

"Clubba? Scarus?"

"Simbakka? Hawksmoor?"

"Katracho? Scratch?"

"Nipperkin? Lejon?"

"Pintel and Ragetti?" Sharpay asked, those two always were her favorites, they were so funny.

"Wait a tick," Ryan spoke, "Where's Hector?"

Jack just looked at them in shock. How did they remember all those men? He barely remembered anyone except Bootstrap, Pintel and Ragetti.

"Hector?" Mr. Gibbs asked, who was Hector? He was sure that he'd heard of every member of Jack's old crew.

"Hector?" Jack thought out loud… "Oh! Barbosa!"

"Barbosa?" Gibbs asked. Jack nodded, "Barbosa be dead."

"Dead?" Ryan asked, shaking his head as if he didn't understand.

"Aye," Gibbs said again, "He and the crew mutinied on Jack…got themselves cursed the lot of them."

"Mutinied?" It was Sharpay's turn to ask, she looked at her uncle who looked quiet uncomfortable with the given topic, "Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Me?" Jack asked pointing to himself, "Course I am. You know me, I'm Cap'n Jack." He grinned in his usual way, but both Sharpay and Ryan could tell there was something underneath the smile. They could see a sort of shame there, shame that he had been mutinied upon…shame that the two people in the world who actually looked up to him found out.

Sharpay shook her head, she couldn't have her uncle sad now could she. She got up and gave Jack a gentle hug, "Well, I for one am glad yer alright."

Jack smiled softly at those words and hugged her back, "As am I, glad you two are safe."

"But what happened to the crew?" Ryan asked, he was never one to let details escape him, "You said they were cursed…wait…" he turned to his uncle, "You didn't try to go to the Isle de Murta, did you?"

Jack smiled awkwardly, as if a child caught in the middle of a crime, "Not exactly…"

Sharpay backed away from him, arms crossed over her chest in, what Jack recalled, an excellent impersonation of her mother, "Jack…" she drew out.

He cracked, it was nearly terrifying how much the girl looked like his sister, "We were headed there yes…you two recall that…but then there was the storm…and the whirlpool…and…"

"And you sacrificed us to the gods," Ryan butted in, "Go on…"

"…and I didn' want to leave till we found you…and the crew mutinied…left me on an island and went off to get the treasure." He answered, "They were cursed."

Sharpay shook her head at her uncle, at least he wasn't cursed. How much would that suck?

Mr. Gibbs was shaking his head as well, "Jack have you naught told them anything?"

"When would I have gotten a chance?" he asked, turning to face his crewmate, "They've been disappeared for nearly twelve years…"

There was silence as Ryan and Sharpay's mouths dropped open, their eyes widened, and their skin paled. "Twelve years?"

A/N – Ohhhh…12 years!? Poor Sharpay and Ryan, living with the thought that they'd only been gone for 6…poor, poor them…Darn time travel…Just so everyone knows, this story takes place in between the second and third movie...Imagine that the Kraken didn't eat Jack in the end but more brought him to Jones and they settled the debt themselves.

Also...it took me so long to write this chappy that I realized that, after finishing the Charmed fic that my creative juices were starting to dwindle. I'm going to start a Narnia: Prince Caspian fic soon to give myself some space from HSM. But as soon as I finish that I will be back at this story. I'm thinking I'll alternate. HSM, other story, HSM, other story, HSM, etc...