AN: First, let me apologize. I'm deeply, deeply sorry for the long wait. This chapter fought me incredebly hard, so incredibly hard in fact that it KO'ed my muse for a month. The biggest obstacle was to get the character of Jack right. It was incredibly difficult, as he kept ending up to dark and vengeful. Also very difficult was trying to write his plans and schemes, given that we don't really know what his original plan was, since it failed. It really left me little to go on in which direction I should take this chapter.

Again I am so sorry for the long wait, but my muse is alive and kicking again, so don't expect such a long wait in the near future. Also I would like to say right now that I will never abandon a story. One of the most annoying things on this site to me are unfinished stories, where there are 30 + chapters and the last update was in 2007. I started highschool in 2007. Should I ever feel like I cannot finish a story, I will either post a chapter with the outline of the rest, or put it up for adoption.

Again, apologies for the long wait, as a peace-offer, this chapter is the longset so far. Enjoy :)

Chapter 10 - Jack

Jack peered intently at his compass, repeating the same words he had been repeating for over four days now like a mantra in his head.

'I want to find Isla de Muerta. I want to find Isla de Muerta. I want to find Isla de Muerta.'

The needle kept pointing in a single direction, not even wavering in the slightest. They had been following this course since they had left Tortuga, though only he knew it. Well, he and James, since the immortal had probably already figured out what it is his compass leads you to.

He didn't raise his eyes from the navigational instrument, even when he heard shouting from the crew and crashes from some crates which had not been secured properly and had fallen down due to the tide. He didn't even so much as twitch even as the voice of Gibbs roared across the deck. He remained in exactly the same position as he had been for the last six hours, while the crew members were scurrying past him close enough for him to smell the rum on their breath.

'That reminds me, buy more rum next time we leave port.'

However, when a shout came from the crow's nest, his head shot up with such speed it almost dislodged his hat.

"Land ho!"

Indeed, a black shape could be made out on the horizon. Jack let out a sharp grin. Somewhere on that miserable pile of rocks was the means to take his life back. All he needed to do was play his cards right, lead the right person to their right role, and he would be sailing away from here with the deck of the Pearl beneath his feet, and her wheel in his hand. Should his other hand just so happen to be filled with some trinkets of the immense treasure hoard, well, Jack certainly wouldn't be raising a fuss about it.

Quickly snapping an order at Gibbs to gain as much speed as possible and an order at Cotton to go straight ahead, Jack turned back to his compass. While they had discovered the place which could not be found, they still had to get to the entrance of the cave system running throughout the island. The treasure was underground and there was only a single access point. Finding the island was difficult, finding the cave entrance was suicidal. If you weren't Captain Jack Sparrow that is.

The black spot in the distance rapidly grew bigger, until various mountain regions and coastlines could be distinguished. The crew became silent as they entered the haunting mist that hung around the island, though Jack barely noticed it, only speaking up to give Cotton the occasional direction he should follow, or a warning to avoid a particular shallow part which could hopelessly strand them.

Finally they were in the proper inlet, though at points it appeared to be more of a crevice in the towering mountainside. Seeing no use in letting Cotton see even more of his compass he quickly shut it, and kept a weather eye on the walls on either side of his ship, careful not to get any of the sails tangled up or damaged by the sharp rocks. Sure, eventually he would take his rightful place on his beloved Pearl, leaving the Interceptor behind, but in order to actually get to his old ship, he required his current one to remain intact.

They continued like this for what felt hours, though it was only a few minutes, the mist damping all sounds and making the world look like it existed of only swirling grays. Almost all conversation had halted by now, making it possible for Jack to hear Gibbs, Will and James quietly talking to each other in hushed tones. As Jack made his way to them unnoticed, he contemplated his two friends.

A few days after they had left port, Jack hadn't bothered to count, Will had appeared very shaky, keeping out of the way of James while keeping a wary eye on him. This awkwardness between them had vanished after the storm that had hit them, but that was not what had caught Jack's eye, even as occupied with his compass as it had been. It wasn't the wariness that Will had for James that was unusual. It is a healthy man that's weary of James. They tend to live longer. No, it was the wariness that Will had for another crew member that had alerted Jack. Will was weary of Annamarie. As far as he knew, Annamarie and Will hadn't known each other before they met in Tortuga, which made Will's behavior all the stranger. He had broken his vigil the night after the storm to confront the young blacksmith about it, but Will simply deflected his questions.

"It's not my secret to tell Jack. You want to know more, then go ask James or My... Annamarie."

Intrigued by the blacksmiths almost-slip up, Jack had done exactly that. Now, two days later, he still wasn't sure if he was glad that he did.

Jack found his targets in James' quarters. While they were not nearly as big as his and even though James didn't really have an official position on the ship, his quarters were still better than the ones for the crew, which were basically nothing more than a hammock and a small chest for personal belongings. Nobody objected to this though, due to James' friendship with Jack and his seniority over almost, if not all members of the crew. Well, that, and the fact that nobody in his right mind would tell James Howlett where he could and could not sleep.

While Jack wasn't surprised to find James in his own quarters, he was surprised by the presence of his other target. Annamarie was sitting on the only chair in the small cabin, her feet on the table. She had a bottle of rum in her hand which had obviously been put to good use, if the low level of liquid still present was anything to go on. James was sitting opposite her on his bunk, divested of coat and tricorn, leaving him only in his boots, pants and a new shirt. This one without a bloody hole in it thankfully. Both of them were roaring in laughter, James' rough voice easily filling the small cabin, and only noticed Jack when he cleared his throat.

He secretly enjoined Annamarie's horrified look, and subsequent tumble out of her chair, letting out a high-pitched "eep!". While he and Annamarie never made any binding promises to each other, to find her in another man's cabin while she was on his ship stung his pride more than he would like to admit. After all, he was quite amendable to receiving female company of the physical kind and was surely more approachable and charming than his gruff clawed friend.

Did that make him petty? Yes, yes it did. Did he care? Not even in the slightest.

Annamarie quickly pulled herself to her knees leaning on the table with her forearms for support.

"Oh! Jack! You're here!"

"I should hope so, given that this is, in fact, my ship, savvy?" Jack dryly responded.

He turned to James, who wore a resigned expression.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked, keeping his tone falsely polite, though he allowed a silent request for an explanation to blatantly show through the question. James simply sighed.

"Jack, it isn't what you think. This is not what it looks like."

"Really? Then, please, by all means, enlighten me on what, exactly, this is?" Jack asked with a sharp grin, eager to hear what kind of excuse a man like James would come up with to explain the presence of his lady friend when caught together red handed. Or, in the immortals case, claw handed.

Jack had caught others and had been caught himself in the company of women and the absence of clothing many times and had heard the most ridiculous of petty excuses. Too be fair though, most of them were his.

James kept quiet for a while, before turning towards Annamarie. "It's your call."

Annamarie looked horrified. "You want to tell him!?"

"He deserves to know. But, like I said, it's your call."

Annamarie bit her lip, looking indecisively between Jack and James.

Jack meanwhile had a million thoughts thundering through his head. This didn't sound good. This didn't sound good at all. Had Annamarie chosen to give herself to James? Maybe they were already married and they were now going to tell him. Maybe she was pregnant. Oh, no, Annamarie was pregnant! Jack was brought out of his internal meltdown by Annamarie calling out to him.

"Jack! Jack, are you all right?"

"Huh, what? Oh, yes, yes, I'm fine." Jack managed to squeak out.

Annamarie gave him a searching look, but to his relief decided to drop it. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then looked Jack straight in the eye.

"I'm not Annamarie."

This halted all of Jack's thoughts.

"What?" he asked confused.

Annamarie sighed and repeated herself. "I'm not Annamarie."

Nope, still made no sense to Jack.

"Then if you're not Annamarie, who are you?"

Annamarie gave a wistful smile. "My friends call me Raven, but most know me as Mystique."

Jack stared at her for a few moments, before letting out a giggle. And another one. And another. Soon, Captain Jack Sparrow found himself giggling hysterically for a few minutes before regaining control of himself. He dimly noticed the sad looks on James and Annamarie's faces, but didn't pay attention to it. After regaining his composure, for the most part, Jack spoke.

"Yes, of course you are, why not, if you're Mystique, then I'm-" "Jack."

James' gruff voice interrupted him. Jack blinked a bit, before dryly replying.

"While accurate, I was actually going for something more humorous, savvy? Like-" "Jack!"

James's hard voice stopped whatever retort Jack had for him. Seeing that Jack would keep quiet, James sighed and continued.

"She's like me Jack."

It took a few moments for that to sink in, before he turned to Annamarie. He opened his mouth, but was stopped by a raised hand of Annamarie.

"Before you ask, yes I heal fast, no I don't have claws."

Seeing Jack close his mouth and focusing all his attention on her, Annamarie continued. "I can shape shift. I can take on the voice and appearance of any human I have ever met. I met Annamarie about six years ago. We were friends."

The last words were whispered in a tone of sadness and loss and James walked over to her to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Jack could feel a sinking suspicion form in his mind, but he pushed it away, instead giving his attention to the woman in front of him.

"Shapeshifting? You'll have to forgive me when I say, I don't think I can believe you on that."

Usually he would have come up with something witty, but his response just came out flat, a result of what he'd just been told. It was hard to accept the fact that the woman in front of him apparently wasn't his Annamarie, but some legendary thief or shapeshifter simply wearing her face.

Somehow. He was still trying to wrap his head around the legendary thief part.

Annamarie looked at him with pitying eyes, before closing her own. Jack gasped as she changed from Annamarie to a blue skinned woman with fiery red hair. As she opened her eyes, Jack saw that they were a sulfurous yellow.

"Hello Jack."

Jack's eyes widened as he heard his own voice greet him. Feeling somewhat lightheaded, Jack staggered towards James' bunk, while his friend assisted him in sitting down. Rubbing a hand over his face and eyes, Jack peeked at the other person in the cabin through his fingers.

Nope. Still very much blue.

"That's... Interesting"

Suddenly Jack's thoughts furiously started picking up again. The ability to look like anyone, to sound like anyone, to practically be anyone... it would mean that no place was off limits, that there was no door which could not be unlocked.

"That's very interesting."

Jack mumbled as his mind started to explore all the possibilities that shapeshifting granted. As his mind was examining all that had been revealed to him in the last five minutes, his mind snagged on something Mystique had said. Rather, on how she said it. He looked back up at the blue woman who was looking at him with a sad and resigned expression. The sinking feeling returned with a vengeance, but Jack ruthlessly put it out of his mind. Such thoughts had never served him any purpose before, they wouldn't be of any use to him now. And Captain Jack Sparrow didn't allow any useless things inside his head!

Firmly ignoring the irony of that statement with dogged determination, Jack looked up at the shapeshifter.

"What happened to her? What happened to the real Annamarie?" he asked in an as neutral voice as he could manage, sounding for all the world as if he were asking about the weather. From the sad looks on their faces he already knew the answer.

"She died instantaneously by a piece of shrapnel when our ship was jumped." Mystique told him in a mournful voice.

Despite expecting something like that, Jack couldn't stop his breath from hitching, feeling oddly hollow, as if there nothing beneath his skin but emptiness.

"I... see." He managed to croak out, feeling James sit down heavily next to him and slinging a comforting arm across his shoulders.

Jack remained silent for a few seconds.

"She would've hated that, you know. If she knew, I mean. Going out without a fight." he softly said, allowing a small melancholy smile to slide along his face.

Jack looked back at Mystique.

"Why look like her?"

The blue woman looked guilty. "I needed to go on this ship. You're going to kill Barbossa. I want to do the same."

This caught Jack's attention.

"Why?"

At this, Mystique gained a look of fury.

"Because he was the one who raided us, the one who killed her. For that he deserves to die!" the shapeshifter spat.

As Jack looked at the furious woman he gained an odd feeling in his chest. He knew it, though only barely, having encountered in only a handful of times before in life, most of the times not voluntarily; Determination. Barbossa had not only wronged him, but had done the same or worse to so many others, all the while using his ship to do so. He needed to be stopped, once and for all. And Jack had been planning to do just that. He lifted his head from his hands, showing a determined face with schemes and plots and plans in his eyes.

"Yes. Yes he does."

Both Mystique and James let out a relieved sigh. James handed Jack an unopened bottle of rum, taking one for himself as well. Holding out the bottle, James proposed a toast.

"To Annamarie."

Mystique sniffed once, before picking up her nearly empty bottle, clinking it against James'. "To Annamarie."

Jack uncorked his own bottle, before joining James and Mystique.

"Aye." He said softly, before taking a swig.

They spent the rest of the night quietly nursing their drinks and sharing stories of Annmarie with each other, some sad but most of them lighthearted and funny. Jack especially had a treasure trove of anecdotes to tell about the exotic beauty, most of them ending with him getting slapped in the face by said beauty.

As light began to shine through the portholes, Jack got to his feet and innocently looked around James' cabin, slowly walking towards the door.

"Say James."

Said man looked up at his name being called.

"Yes?"

"Isn't your cabin a little small for two?"

Ignoring James flaming red cheeks, and Mystique's 'eep!' of embarrassment, Jack nonchalantly continued, having reached the doorway, laying his hand on the handle.

"Of course, maybe in later months, we might need to make room for three. Or four. Or six."

He quickly slammed the door shut behind him, just fast enough to hear a suspicously feminine shriek followed by a bottle being smashed against the door. Jack had to bite his lip to keep himself from roaring with laughter; James had been the only one in the cabin who still had a bottle in his hand.

Jack quickly shook himself out of his memories, having approached the trio of huddled men. He heard Gibbs tell Will and James his 'escape' from the island Barbossa marooned him on. James was listening with a grin, obviously appreciating the story for what it was, just a very awesome story of a daring escape by the incredible Captain Jack Sparrow. Wether any of it was true or not was entirely beside the point in Jack's opinion. Will though looked skeptical at Gibbs who was wearing a satisfied smirk, obviously in awe of the story.

"What did he use for rope?"

This wiped the smirk of Gibbs' face, who looked puzzled. He opened his mouth, but shut it again, looking even more confused. James let out a snort of amusement. Not willing to let his well-earned and even better fabricated reputation be ruined by some wet behind the ears pirate/blacksmith Jack quickly stepped in, using his most serious voice.

"Human hair."

Gibbs looked up so fast it internally made Jack wince, while Will whirled around, almost losing his balance. James though simply turned to look at him with a grin and a raised eyebrow. The immortal had probably heard him approaching. Looking back at Will and Gibbs he saw Gibbs losing his confused look, appearing to be satisfied by the explanation. Will though looked as if he wanted to ask more questions. Nipping both reactions in the bud, Jack continued.

"From my back."

Will looked vaguely ill, whereas Gibbs regained his former look of utter confusion. James barely managed to hold back a snort and locked eyes with Jack, who winked in response before turning to the rest of the crew.

"Let go the anker!" The shout was picked up by the crew, who quickly set to work.

Jack paid it no mind, continuing to walk across the deck. Laying a hand on the balustrade, Jack looked at the cave a little distance away from the ship. Scanning his surroundings Jack was disappointed, but not surprised, to find the Pearl nowhere in sight. Barbossa was an utter bastard, yes, but he was not stupid. The cursed captain knew just like Jack that this was the only entrance to the cave system accessible by open sea. Meaning that any pursuers, however unlikely, would pass through here as well. Leaving your ship unattended at such a spot was simply a very stupid thing to do, and as said before, Barbossa was many things, most of the horrible, but he was not stupid.

Still though, Jack was weary of the fact that his mutinous first mate hadn't posted any guards near the entrance. At least, any guards Jack could detect. Then again, when you're immortal, getting ambushed isn't really that much of a problem. Speaking of immortals, Jack was joined by James at the balustrade, who followed his gaze to the darkened entrance.

"So, we have a plan?" the wild man asked in his gruff voice.

Jack nodded.

"Me and Mr. Turner will enter first in one of the longboats; search the place for Barbossa and his mangy crew of wretched souls and the medallion. Once we know where the medallion is, we take it, have Will make a blood sacrifice and return it to rest of the gold of Cortez. Then we kill Barbossa and sail away on the Pearl."

James nodded.

"Simple. I like simple."

Suddenly Jack gained a devious idea, slyly looking over at his friend, who was peering at the cave entrance. Jack's initial plan had been to somehow use James to steal the medallion, hopefully drawing the attention of Barbossa and his crew, while he and Will saved Elizabeth and find the gold of Cortez. Then James, most likely scuffed and scraped, but definitely alive, would bring him the medallion, he would use Will's blood to return the medallion, then take one for himself and gleefully watch as Barbossa realized that the tables were turned on him. However he returned to the thought he had when he first saw the Pearl for the first time in almost a decade. Or more specifically, when he saw her crew again. 'After all, if the ship was here, then naturally the crew must be as well.' Well, the reverse was also true. He knew the crew was here, so the Pearl should be around somwhere.

He turned his attention to James.

"How would you like to steal a ship, mate?"

James' grin was all the answer he needed. Turning around he saw Gibbs shouting orders at the crew. He walked over to the man, who quickly joined him.

"Mr. Gibbs, young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore, while Mr. Howlett and some of the men shall search the nearby waters. Prepare the longboats."

At this Gibbs gained a troubled look. "Captain! What if the worst should happen?"

Jack barely paused as he continued walking.

"Keep to the Code."

He paid no attention at Will's narrowed look as the young man overheard the statement.

Jack tugged on the oars, as he saw another longboat with James at the helm disappear around the corner. Behind him, he could feel Will shift as the blacksmith was lightning a lantern. Steadily rowing the longboat towards the cave, both Jack and Will were soon enveloped in darkness, with only the light of the recently lit lantern to go by. They were mostly quiet as the rowed through the dark cave until he could feel Will suddenly recoil.

"What Code is Gibbs to keep to? If the worst were to happen?" Will asked in a hurried voice.

Looking around Jack saw what had distressed the young man. On a ledge not far from the waterside, a skeleton was laying on the ground, it's hollow sockets looking out at nothing. How the poor character had come to his end was made evident by the cutlass still sticking out of his back. Jack suddenly realized that this must be the first time Will was fully confronted with death. Sure, while Will had broken many laws during their trip, and had shown remarkable determination to take down Barbossa, he had not seen what could happen to them should they fail, and what had already happened to many who had.

"The Pirate's Code. Anyone who falls behind, is left behind."

He could hear Will gulp at that.

"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" Will asked bitterly.

Jack couldn't help but grin at that.

"You know, for someone having such a bleak outlook on pirate, you're well on your way to becoming one."

As expected this riled the young man up, taking his mind of their gloomy surroundings. Before Will could refute the statement, Jack continued.

"Springing, not one, but two criminals from jail. Commandeer a ship from the Royal fleet. Sail with a buccaneer crew from Tortuga."

Here Jack paused as he could feel Will lean over the side of the boat. Turning to the side, he saw the water lighting up, as if it was illuminated from below. Following Will's gaze he saw that it were hundreds of coins, glinting in the light of their lantern. Looking back at Will, who had a fascinated expression on his face he continued.

"And you are completely obsessed with treasure."

Landing the longboat on what with some imagination and a lot of goodwill could be called a shore, Jack looked around, quickly noticing the other longboats. So, it appears his hunch was correct, Barbossa had left the ship and came here in the longboat, along with most of his crew, if the sheer number of docked boats was anything to go on. He was brought out of his observation as Will spoke up.

"I am not obsessed with treasure."

Jack ignored the statement for now, quickly making his way deeper into the cave, until he came upon a ledge which looked out over the central chamber of the cavern. Turning to look at Will, who had followed him, Jack finally answered him.

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."

Will joined him, confused at first, thought the confusion quickly left him as he saw what Jack was looking at. There, surrounded by the most feared and dangerous pirates to sail the Carribean, stood Elizabeth, luckily unrestrained and apparently in relatively good health, if one ignored to look of sheer terror on her face. Still, Jack could not help but understand what Will saw in her, as Elizabeth, despite her fear, still held her beautiful head high, not willing to surrender to her fear or her captors. Next to her, with a pitch black hat on his head and a firm grip on her arm stood Barbossa himself. As Jack looked at him, he started to wonder how he ever could have thought to trust this man. Barbossa almost oozed a feeling of sheer evil and malice, the white of his eyes a sickly yellow and looking out at the world with unnatural cruelty. Right now Barbossa was delivering a rousing speech to his crew, promising salvation from their curse.

'So he is still unaware that he hasn't got the right blood.'

This could be both good and bad. Good, because that made Elizabeth a valuable bargaining chip and Barbossa would try not to harm her. Bad, because given how he was riling the crew up, with his speech of salvation, Jack feared for Elizabeth's live when they find out that Barbossa could not make true his promises.

'But the medallion. Where is it?'

Without the medallion, no matter what plan he could come up with, they would ultimately fail.

'Maybe I should have brought James with me instead. He could just search them all.' Jack wondered.

Focusing back on Barbossa's speech he could hear the dark captain roar.

"Here it is!"

Before Jack could wander what was here, Barbossa placed his boot on the nearby chest and pushed it off, letting it fall to the ground with an ominous bang. Jack tensed as he realized what was in the chest. Barbossa ran his hand along the countless coins, confirming Jack's suspicions.

"The cursed treasure of Cortez himself."

Grabbing a handful of coins from the chest he let them fall back into it, like enormous grains of golden sand falling through his fingers.

"Every single piece that went astray, we have returned."

Jack tensed as he realized that wasn't true. After all, one medallion yet remained. But where?

"Except this one!" Barbossa roared as he pointed at Elizabeth, unknowingly answering Jack's question.

'Bugger!´ Well, this complicated things. Suddenly he could feel Will start beside him.

"Jack!" the young man whispered desperately.

Jack immediately pulled him back though.

"No! Not yet!"

Neither of the noticed a small monkey seeing the gold that was displaced by their small scuffle. Looking intently at Will, he spoke as convincingly as he could.

"We wait for the opportune moment."

Not waiting for an agreement from the blacksmith, Jack quickly went back the way they came, Will hot on his heels.

"And when is that?" the young man demanded angrily. "When it's of greatest profit to you?" Will spoke accusingly, stopping Jack dead in his tracks.

"Can I ask you something?" Jack said, as he turned towards Will walking towards him and leaning in uncomfortably close.

"Have I ever given you reason, not to trust me?" Not receiving an answer, Jack ploughed on. "Do us a favour. I know it's difficult for you, but please, stay here and try not to do anything… stupid."

Giving a weak grin, Jack quickly turned around and continued on his way. He made his way closer to the cavern, seeing Barbossa roughly push Elizabeth down, and grabbing and old looking knife. The crew's ominous chanting gave little doubt to what Barbossa would be cutting with it.

"Begot by blood. By blood, undone."

As Barbossa lifted the blade, Jack heard something behind him. Turning around he saw Will hefting an oar above his head. Before Jack could do anything, pain exploded in his head and everything went dark.

AN: Let me know what you thought of the chapter, any feedback is much appreciated!

Fun Fact: The monkey used in the film was so unruly it drove the director, Gore Verbinski, to desperation, since it would never sit still or do what it was told long enough to make good shots. Verbinski had become so fed up with it in fact, he was contemplating just animating the whole monkey but was stopped by Geoffrey Rush, the actor who plays Barbossa. Rush stated that he would simply do the takes over and over again as long as was required, even though, in order to get the monkey to look in a certain direction, they had to squirt it with a water gun. This meant that on particularly long days, Rush himself was absolutley dripping wet from being sprayed in the face with waterguns almost continously. Talk about dedication to the job!