William pulled himself out of the water and he coughed from having swallowed too much of it. He found Elizabeth safe in front of him as she stood with Gibbs and Katherine was still wading out of the water. He grabbed her wrist and he pulled her along with him.

"I'm never ever doing that again", she told him.

"This truly is a godforsaken place", Gibbs said.

"I don't see Jack", Elizabeth added. "I don't see anyone".

All they could see was sand and dunes and the sea. Their ship was wrecked. They were stuck in some place that Jack was in but there was no sign of him.

"He's here", Barbossa replied. "Davy Jones never once gave up that what he took".

"Does it matter?" Will asked. "We're trapped here by your doing. No different than Jack".

"Witty Jack is closer than you think", Tia said and Katherine tilted her head at the crab in her hand. It was greyish white and looked like a rock. Several more were making their way towards Tia and they gathered close around her.

Her darkened greenish blue eyes scanned the area and they widened on seeing familiar black sails over a dune. "It's the Pearl!" She shouted. All eyes turned towards the appearance and the magnificent ship rose over the sand with what looked like the rock-shaped crabs pushing it forward.

And Captain Jack Sparrow was there, standing on the mast with his head high. The Pearl lurched forward and it slide down the dune and into the sea.

"Impossible", one man muttered.

"Boat", Ragetti said in disbelief. He inhaled sharply when Katherine elbowed him in the stomach.

"Ship", she corrected with a wide smile.

"Slap me thrice and hand me to me mama. It's Jack", Gibbs said in awe of seeing his old friend.

They watched as the Captain of the Pearl got into a long boat and he rowed to shore. Katherine stayed behind while everyone else ran to greet him. She was happy to see him and he hadn't changed a bit. She was relieved that he was safe and he was finally back among them. However, she was bitter as well. She could not help but remember seeing Elizabeth kiss him when they were under attack. Her heart squeezed and she unconsciously placed her hand over the beating organ.

Tia turned to look at her and Kate slowly walked towards them.

"Mr. Gibbs!"

"Aye Cap'n!"

"I thought so. I expect you're able to account for your actions, then", Jack said.

Gibbs looked lost. What was Jack talking about? "Sir? You're in Davy Jones' locker, Cap'n", the First Mate answered softly.

It was Jack's turn to look lost. "I know that", he replied after a few seconds. "I know where I am".

"Jack Sparrow", Barbossa called.

"Ah, Hector!" Jack chirped in a cheerful manner, ignoring Barbossa's grimace at being called by his first name. "It's been too long, hasn't it?"

"Isla de Muerta, remember?" Barbossa said with a cold smile. "You shot me".

"No, I didn't", Jack said with a smile and he moved to Tia. "You add an agreeable sense of macabre to any delirium".

"Delirium?" Katherine echoed questioningly.

"He thinks we're a hallucination", Will replied, already feeling tired with Jack.

Jack barely glanced at Katherine and he moved in front of Will. "Will, tell me something", he started. "Have you come because you need my help to save a certain distressing damsel, or rather, a damsel in distress? Either one".

"No", Will replied.

"Well then, you wouldn't be here, would you?" Jack deduced with a strange look in his dark eyes. "So, you can't be here. Q.E.D, you're not really here".

"Jack", Elizabeth called and she stepped out of the crowd. "This is real. We're really here. We've come to rescue you".

Jack turned around with a grimace. "Have you, now? That's very kind of you", he replied and he approached her. "But as I possess a ship and you don't, you're the ones in need of rescuing, and I'm not sure as I'm in the mood".

"I see my ship right there", Barbossa said and he pointed towards the anchored Pearl.

Jack looked towards the sea with an upturned mouth. "Can't spot it. Must a tiny little thing hiding somewhere behind the Pearl".

Katherine smirked. He hadn't lost his sense of humor.

"Jack, Cutler Beckett has the heart of Davy Jones", Will spoke up and everyone flocked around Jack. "He controls the Flying Dutchman".

"He's taking over the seas", Elizabeth added.

"The song has been sung. The Brethren Court is called", Tia said.

"Leave you alone for a minute and look what happens. Everything's gone to pot", Jack said with a shake of his head at what had occurred during his absence.

"That's why we need you back".

He turned at the source of the soft voice and he found Katherine standing slightly behind Will. Her attire had changed, he noticed. But she looked the same, although her eyes were considerably darker than when he had last seen them.

"Aye. The world needs you back something fierce", Gibbs agreed.

"And you need a crew", Will said.

"Why should I sail with any of you?" Jack asked as he turned to them with a look of suspicion. "Four of you has tried to kill me in the past. One of you succeeded".

Both Will and Kate snapped their heads towards Elizabeth.

"You did what?!" Katherine roared and Will gripped her arms to prevent her from getting close to Elizabeth. She would certainly take out her anger on her cousin and no one was currently looking forward to a fight.

"Oh, she's not told you", Jack said with a smirk and a light hop to his steps. "You'll have loads to talk about while you're here".

He walked down the row of his crew, picking his men. He accepted all of the old crew except for Ragetti and Pintel who were surprised when they were ignored by the strange Captain.

"Who are you?" Jack asked the Asian men.

"Tai Huang", the leader replied. "These are my men".

"Where do your allegiances lie?" The Captain asked.

"With the highest bidder", Tai Huang replied.

"I have a ship".

"That makes you the highest bidder".

"Weigh anchor, all hands! Prepare to make sail", Jack ordered and he turned to walk to the long boat.

He stopped in front of Katherine and he was about to speak when he noticed a strange look in her eyes. He squinted his eyes thoughtfully. "You can come on my-"

He choked on the rest of the sentence when his face turned to the side forcefully from the sudden slap. He lifted a hand to his stinging cheek with his dark eyes wide in astonishment.

Katherine had slapped him.

Her eyes blazed at him and her teeth were bared in a growl. Everyone was silent and some were even holding their breath.

Kate felt like a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

Still, her heart lurched and she suddenly wanted to hug Jack fiercely and not let go. She closed her hands into tight fists and she almost scoffed when he flinched away from the movement. Perhaps he thought that she would be punching him next.

"Please don't talk to me", she told him in a shaking voice and she turned around, heading for the long boat. All those who had Jack's approval for sailing with him followed her.

"Jack, where are you heading?" Barbossa asked with the charts in hand. He had seen that his rival's compass was giving no specific direction and Jack would have no choice but to let them aboard the Pearl.


Just as expected, Jack and Barbossa bickered incessantly once aboard the Pearl. At first it was funny but then they got annoying.

And Pintel decided to take care of it.

"Stow it, the both of you!" Pintel suddenly barged in. "That's an order! Understand?"

Katherine peered down from her position next to Cotton at the helm. She chuckled at Pintel who deflated under the glares he received.

She turned to Cotton, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The mute man shook his head and he motioned to the front of the ship. Kate grinned and she nodded. She walked past Jack and she ignored his look as she went down the port stairs, going towards the bow which had become her favorite spot. She leaned forward against the rail and she closed her eyes when she heard his distinct footsteps.

"You got lots of weapons there", Jack said and he motioned to her heavy belt. He grimaced when she did not answer him. "What's got you in such a mood?"

He swallowed nervously on seeing a dark tinge in her eyes.

"What the hell happened that day?"

Jack smiled nervously. "What are you talking about?"

His eyes widened slightly when she advanced towards him. "You're really going to pretend that you don't know? All this time I thought that I would be really happy to have you back. And I am. But you know what? I also really want to punch you in the face", she growled with narrowed eyes.

Jack paled. He knew that she was asking about the kiss he had shared with Elizabeth on the day that he died.

Women really were scary creatures.

"She kissed me first", he answered feebly, deciding that it would be better to stop feigning ignorance.

"Is that your excuse?!"

The Captain's fingers twitched. He wanted to run away. He had seen Katherine getting angry at Elizabeth and he did not want to have that anger directed at him. The slap from earlier was a tiny fraction of what she could do and he did not want to know what else she could do to him.

"Why did you slap me earlier?"

"I felt like it", she replied harshly and she side-stepped him to leave but Jack gripped her elbow and he pulled her back, caging her between the rail and his body. He placed his hands on either side of her waist as good measure.

"I don't think so", he told her with a curious look. He mentally heaved a sigh when he began to gain control of the situation. Now, Katherine looked just like a stubborn little girl. "Tell me, Kate. Did the kiss bother you that much?"

He held back a grin on seeing a blush creeping up her face.

Ah, so that was the case.

"Are you jealous?"

Katherine pressed herself against the railing when Jack stepped closer to her. She could not tell him that he made the correct assumption.

"Yes, it bothered me", she found herself saying. Her mouth was moving but it felt as though she had no control over her words. Her thoughts were jumbled up and they overwhelmed her. "When she was using the compass to look for the heart, the needle kept pointing towards you. She kept sneaking glances at you even though she knew I liked you. She told me to be careful because you're a pirate and yet, there she goes doing the same".

Jack stepped back with surprise.

Katherine liked him.

And all along he thought that she was in love with Commodore Norrington.

"Then there's James", she continued. She mentally cursed herself for not being able to stop talking. "Perhaps the fact that we kissed made her think that I'm giving up on you".

"So, you kissed the Commodore but you like me?"

The Captain could see the confusion swimming in her eyes.

"It's not like that!" Kate exclaimed and she suddenly deflated, feeling trapped. "James is... James is a part of me. It's as if he'll always be in here", she laid her hand flat over her heart. "No matter what. He's- We... Actually, this is it. There would never be a 'we' for me and him. First, he was to be married to Elizabeth. Then he went after you and he resigned from the Royal Navy. It was only after he left that I realized I had feelings for him but it was too late. We found him on Tortuga and we were so deep in with the Dutchman that there was no way to tell him. Now he's back in the Navy while I'm slowly becoming a pirate myself. Until all of this is over, there's no telling whether we'll be together. Hell, one of us might already be dead. Or both of us. I don't know. But even if we both survive, there won't be an 'us'. He'll be a man of the navy and I'll be a pirate".

"And where do I fit in there?"

Katherine blinked with surprise. "What?"

"You said that you liked me", Jack reminded her with narrowed eyes. "And you can't have two men".

Kate looked up at him with soft eyes. "You already know my answer".

She pushed past him to leave but once again, he stopped her. "That doesn't mean I won't try to make you like me more than him".

The raven-haired girl stiffened from the shock and she waited until he had left to take in a deep breath. Just what the hell did she get into?


"...rine. Katherine. Kate, wake up!"

The young woman sat up abruptly from the urgency she heard in Will's voice. "There's something you might want to see", he said gravely. He waited for her to put her boots on and she left her coat and hat behind. The two of them went up the stairs to go on the upper deck and Kate shivered in the cold night, suddenly wishing she had taken her coat.

She followed Will who placed his hand over the musket in Gibbs' hands, lowering it. "They're not a threat to us. Am I right?" He said.

It was then that Katherine caught sight of the floating bodies just below the surface of the water. There were hundreds of them, she realized with a sinking feeling. She saw boats carrying people who sat silently, their faces a ghostly white in the light coming from the lamp sitting in front of them in the small vessels.

"We are nothing but ghosts to them", Tia Dalma replied.

"It's best just let them be", Barbossa added quietly.

Katherine gasped and her knees suddenly weakened on seeing familiar faces among those floating beneath the water. She gripped Will's hand tightly and he turned to look at her. "What is it?" He asked grimly, recognizing fear and pain in her eyes.

"I know them. I know those faces. Will, I know them", she said in an unstable voice. "They were part of the Blue Moon's crew. Why are we seeing them? It's been so long since the Blue Moon was lost to the sea. Why are we seeing them?"

"Don't look", Jack said from behind her and he placed a hand over her eyes and the other on her bare shoulder. He felt her shivering and he drew her closer to him. However, she stiffened on hearing her cousin's words.

"It's my father. We've made it back", Elizabeth said.

Katherine gripped the rail tightly until her knuckles turned white, knowing that Elizabeth was wrong. She closed her eyes to stop the tears from falling.

"Father! Father, here. Look here!"

"Elizabeth, we're not back", Jack said grimly.

The woman's face fell when she understood the meaning behind his words. Still, her heart refused to believe him. "Father!"

She smiled when the old Governor looked up at her. "Elizabeth, are you dead?" He asked.

"No, no", she replied and she blinked the first tears away, walking along the railing towards the bow.

"I think I am", Governor Swann told her with a confused look. "There was this chest, you see. It's odd. At the time, it seemed so important. And a heart. I learned that if you stab the heart, yours must take its place. And you will sail the seas for eternity. The Dutchman must have a Captain. Silly thing to die for".

"Someone cast a line!" Elizabeth ordered and Marty looked around for a rope. "Come back with us!"

Elizabeth snatched the rope from Marty's hands and she threw it over. It landed over the boat her father was in. "Take the line!" She called out to him.

"I'm so proud of you, Elizabeth", the Governor said and he ignored the rope, knowing that he shouldn't be getting aboard the Black Pearl. "And Katherine. Take care of Katherine, will you?" He glanced towards where Captain Jack Sparrow was holding on to his niece.

"Take the line! Father, take it!"

"She must not leave the ship!" Tia ordered.

Katherine felt Will running towards Elizabeth before she could jump ship and several others followed him except for Jack who stayed with her. "Let me see him, please", she said in a whisper.

His hand lowered and she opened her eyes, seeing her uncle smiling and drifting away from the Pearl. She wanted to call out to him but her voice got stuck and she could only watch him leave. Elizabeth was hysterical and Will comforted her.

There was absolutely nothing they could do.

The night had faded and the sun came up. However, the day was long, much longer than they all thought and the Pearl kept sailing. The weather was warm and uncomfortable. They were low on provision and not a drop of water nor rum was left.

Katherine had ditched her hat and her coat. She was sitting on crate just behind Tia and Will. "If we cannot escape these doldrums before night, I fear we will sail on trackless seas", the dark-skinned woman warned. "Doomed to roam the reach between worlds. Forever".

"With no water, forever looks to be arriving a mite too soon", Gibbs said as he approached them.

"Why doesn't he do something?" Will asked and he looked up at Barbossa who was up on the quarterdeck.

"Because he won't be the one to find the answer", Kate replied and her gaze shifted to Jack. The latter was sitting in front of the chart, trying to make sense of it. Katherine stood up and she walked towards him, leaning over his shoulder. Ragetti's wooden eye rolled across the map.

"Sunrises don't set", Gibbs said from behind them as he paced.

"'Up is down'", Jack read pensively and he grimaced. "That's just maddeningly unhelpful. Why are these things never clear?"

"No, there should be a connection", Kate told him with a frown.

"What, eh?"

"A connection", she repeated.

"Come again?"

"Connection, you dolt!"

"I wasn't talking to you! Shut it", Jack retorted.

Katherine huffed and squinted her eyes at him when he mumbled to himself.

"Not sunset", he said a bit louder and he rotated the ship in the middle of the chart. "Sundown. And rise up".

"'Up is down'", Katherine realized and the two of them shared a glance.

Jack jumped from his seat and he looked to his left. "What's that?"

All eyes turned to him when he ran to the left, leaning over the rail. "What is that?" He asked dramatically.

"Where?" Gibbs asked next to him, trying to see what had caught Jack's attention.

"There".

Jack ran to the other side of the ship with an exclamation and several others followed him. Katherine ran a hand down her face and she laughed at what the Captain had in mind. "Clever Jack".

With a grin, she joined them as they ran to and fro along the width of the vessel.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.

Jack only ran to the other side, still pretending that he saw something.

"He's rocking the ship", Pintel said, not feeling safe with the unnatural motion.

"We're rocking the ship!" Gibbs repeated louder when he realized that Jack was right.

"Time it with the swell!" Barbossa yelled and he went down halfway. "Loose the cannons, you lazy bilge rats!" He ordered and the rest of the men scurried along. "Unstow the cargo! Let it shift".

On the upper deck, Katherine burst out laughing when Ragetti and Pintel tied themselves upside down to the mast. "This is crazy!"

"But it makes sense!" Jack told her with a grin and he weaved his fingers with hers, holding her hand tightly. Together, they led the dance while the rest followed the steps. The Pearl rocked and it slowly became more difficult for them to run. One of Sao Feng's men did not reach the railing in time and he slid off the ship, falling prey to the endless sea. The Black Pearl groaned from the constant motion and everyone screamed when their feet were no longer touching the deck.

On Jack's left, Gibbs flinched when one men fell and he was crushed by a loose cannon. Looking to his right, he found a grinning Katherine and there was a sparkle in her eyes. "This is it!" She yelled.

Indeed, the ship was turning over slowly. "Now up is down", Jack concluded.

The port side of the vessel hit the water and the sails went under.

Katherine took a deep breath and within a few seconds, the Black Pearl was turned upside down in the water. Everyone held on to the railing or whatever rope that came their way.

Nothing was happening.

Kate looked at Jack who nodded at her as if telling her to wait.

Then the water around them began rushing towards the hull of the ship. Jack's eyes widened when the water shifted dangerously fast. He turned around, covering Katherine's body with his own and they braced for impact.

The Pearl was like a compressed spring being released and she very nearly jumped out of the water.

Everyone gulped the air greedily and some coughed out the water they had swallowed.

Katherine blinked the water out of her eyes and she looked at Jack who was on top of her. "It worked", she said and she smiled widely.

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, love", he replied with a smirk.

"Oh, get off".

Jack rolled off her and Kate stood up.

"Blessed sweet westerlies!" Gibbs exclaimed with surprise and he stood up. "We're back".

"It's the sunrise", Elizabeth said, looking at the ball of fire peeking over the horizon.

One moment everyone was happy to be back and the next, Barbossa pointed his gun at Jack who flinched in surprise. Gibbs, Elizabeth and Will reacted by pointing their weapons at him and in return, Jack pointed his guns at Will and Elizabeth who both took a second gun each. Katherine, having only one, pointed hers at Elizabeth.

The young girl was weirded out when everyone started laughing. Barbossa was the first one to stop and he lifted his guns again with the rest doing the same as well.

"All right, then!", he commanded, his dark eyes focusing on the other Captain. "The Brethren Court is a-gathering at Shipwreck Cove. And Jack, you and I are a-going. There'll be no arguing that point".

"I is arguing that point", Jack replied dryly, not happy that his rival was taking command. "If there's pirates a-gathering, I'm pointing my ship the other way".

Elizabeth seemed to have lost patience with the man and she pointed both her guns at him. "The pirates are gathering to fight Beckett, and you're a pirate", she told him. A nervous look fleeted in her eyes when Jack pointed both of his guns at her chest.

"Fight or not, you're not running, Jack", Will added and he shifted his guns towards the cunning man who mirrored his actions.

"If we don't stand together, they'll hunt us down one by one till there be none left but you", Captain Barbossa continued.

"Quite like the sound of that", Jack replied after a brief thought. "Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate".

"No, you don't", Katherine finally piped in and she pressed the barrel of her gun at the back of his head.

"I thought you were on my side!" The Captain exclaimed with a childish pout.

"And you'll be fighting Jones alone", Barbossa stepped up, trying to reason with him. "How does that figure into your plan?"

"I'm still working on that. But I will not be going back to the Locker, mate. You can count on that".

Jack's gun made a funny sound when he pulled the trigger and water dripped from the muzzle. The rest of them tried firing too but all guns were useless.

"Wet powder", Gibbs concluded, a little annoyed. He would have loved to empty his weapon into Barbossa.

Katherine rolled her eyes and she walked past the group, picking up the charts that had been lodged between some debris. She rolled it out over a large crate and Will sat on a smaller one next to her while the rest gathered around them.

"There's fresh water on this island", he said pointing to the drawings. "We can resupply there and get back to shooting each other later".

"You lead the shore party. I'll stay with my ship", Captain Sparrow immediately decided.

Barbossa squinted his eyes at him. "I'll not be leaving my ship in your command".

"Really?" Katherine asked with a scowl as she looked between the two Captains. "Can't you both just shut the-"

"Why don't you both go ashore and leave the ship in my command?" Will cut in peacefully. "Right, Kate?"

"Good idea", Kate approved with a nod. The Captains turned to glare at her. "Temporarily, of course".


The Black Pearl neared the island and some of the Asian sailors worked together to drop the anchor. Three boats were being lowered down for those who were to go ashore. Katherine stood at the bow with Will and he slipped her spyglass out of her belt, earning a half-hearted glare from her. He trained the instrument towards the island and he frowned on seeing something huge lying on the beach.

"Kate, take a look at this", he said and he handed the girl the spyglass. She turned it in the same direction that he did and she frowned at the structure. As she studied it, she found a few battered tentacles lying around it.

And she suddenly knew what it was.

Will caught the way her face paled. "Katherine?"

"It's the Kraken", she replied in disbelief. "It was killed".

The young Turner snatched the spyglass and he took another look at the dead beast. Sure enough, it was the Kraken. It was strange seeing the once powerful monster lying dead on the beach of some unknown island.

"Is that Sao Feng?" Elizabeth called out, pointing at the ship that came out of a hidden spot behind the island.

"How did he find us?" Katherine asked and she was about to make her way to the stern when Will caught her hand and he pulled her back with a guilty look. Somehow, she seemed to put the pieces together, producing a vague idea. "William".

The older man nearly winced at the bite he felt in his name.

"I'm not sorry, Kate. But please, I had to do this".

The raven-haired girl watched as the ship anchored next to the Pearl and a gangplank was put out. The Asian men took over the ship and no one resisted since the Pearl's crew was seriously outnumbered.


Jack is back!

~IcedLady~