AN: Sorry for not updating as quickly. I've been so busy with reports, projects, exams and the like that I never get the time to write. Unfortunately I'm still quite busy so the pace won't really change much. Well anyways, here's the next chapter! Read and Review but most of all, enjoy!

"It's too late to have regrets now...you've made your decision and because of it you're going to fall into your impending doom." - Marine's clone

Chapter 25 - Too Late

Jack groaned and opened his eyes to face a very dark sky. It seemed different from the other skies he'd seen. He furrowed his brows as he noted a few lumps or things sticking out. A few seconds later he realized that they were rocks that had been formed into the shape they presently had because of erosion.

"Why does the sky have strange rocks sticking out of it?" He murmured to himself.

"Because that isn't the sky you're looking at you big dummy." A soft voice replied. Jack tried to turn his head at the sound of the voice but found out that he was too tired to do so; he felt drained of energy and rest. He gave up trying and went back to staring up. The other person with him must have sensed this because a few moments later he found himself face to face with a pretty but languid and pale face.

"Marine?" He coughed before he could go on with what he was saying and wanted nothing more than to tear his throat out. It itched terribly and felt hoarse from being out of use. He wondered how long he had been out from the real world; how long the female pirate had taken care of him like this. She looked dirty, stressed out and exhausted as she placed a cold hand to his forehead.

"Your fever has gone down. And aside from your ridiculous delirium about the sky you're getting better. Guess nothing would cure you of your daftness." She said, moving back from Jack yet still looking down at him. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've given me now? Instead of finding a way to get out of this bloody island I had to keep an eye on you day and night and bring you out from your misery." Jack wanted to smirk at her and give back a witty comeback but took one look at her eyes and stopped himself.

"How long have you been taking care of me?" He asked. When Marine didn't answer, he grabbed her arm and tightened his hold. "How long?" He repeated.

"Two days? I can't really remember. But what's important is you've been stubbornly fighting not to die. Even your body was working with you to keep you alive and survive through the worst part of your infection. It made you recover quicker."

"Impressive. You could use that kind of tone and the kind of expression on other people perhaps, but your bloodshot eyes and ridiculously shaggy appearance are telling me something else." He told her. "I know for a fact that when you're stranded, one of the things you remember most is the number of days or weeks you've been on the island. How long?" At first Marine didn't answer him. It was only when she stared at his intense khol-smudged eyes did she crack.

"A week and two days." Jack stared at her for a long time before turning his head away.

"Ah...still no sign of the Black Pearl or any other ship for that matter?"

"Don't know...I didn't have the chance to take a look, and the only sign they'll have of our inhabiting this island is the smoke from the fire I make every night." Marine said as she turned her gaze from him to tend to something he couldn't see. When she came back to his line of vision, he saw that she held some fruits and smoked fish on sticks.

"Here. You're probably starving. It'll help you recover even quicker." She said, holding it out to him. Jack wasn't paying any attention to what she was holding. He was more focused on the hands that carried the food. He groaned as he forced himself to sit up from the ground; it took him a while to manage it on his own. His arms shook as he used what strength he still had to bring himself up and felt his lungs bursting from exhaustion. When he finally settled on a comfortable sitting position, he looked at the female pirate. Marine didn't move to assist him. Instead she just sat there, carrying the food she had collected and waiting for him to get it. Jack took the fruits and the smoked fish, set them aside, then grabbed Marine's arm and pulled it closer to him. He inspected it in silence, tracing the cuts and bruises she had all over her arm with his finger. From what he could tell, Marine had gotten them very recently; a couple of days ago or so. He gritted his teeth as he avoided her gaze and tightened his hold on her arm.

"Why? Why are you going through all this needless trouble, even injuring yourself in the process, just to take care of me? You just said a while ago how much trouble I gave you and how much better it would have been for you if you hadn't taken care of me. You hate me and you don't trust me anymore; you said that you would never trust me for as long as you lived. But now I find you here sitting beside me, bringing me food at the cost of those injuries - though they're minor - on your hands . Tell me why you did it Marine. Say it!" He shouted angrily. "I didn't ask for your help. I didn't want it and I didn't need it. So why?"

"Consider it payment for trying to save me on our first day here on this island." She replied still in that same cold tone. "Even though I hated you, I would never let you go down like that without my repaying you back. It's a matter of pride to me, you see." Jack furrowed his brows and had a look of intense concentration on his face that Marine wondered if he was really feeling better or was just faking it.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked him.

"I'm considering it." Jack replied casually. "And I don't buy it. I know you and how your mind works, if you have a mind, and it doesn't work that way."

"And just how much do you know of me?" Marine snapped angrily. "Really Jack, can you truly say that you know so much about me when we've only met each other and spent a few months with each other?" Jack wasn't fazed by her anger and answered back with an expressionless gaze on his face.

"And what about you? Can you truly say that you know enough of me not to trust me?" Marine rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh please. You're just veering the topic so that you can corner me instead."

"Really now? Are you sure? Maybe I'm just telling this to you so you can open your eyes to the truth and realize that you're wrong about your preconceived conceptions of me."

"Oh yeah? And what's wrong with my conception of you as a lying, cheating, traitorous pirate?! You're willing to trade anything and anyone just to get what you want right? You always seem to help others out but what they don't know is that you usually do it for your own personal reasons. You would never do anything without getting something beneficial from it in return and you would betray your allies to save yourself. In fact, you've already done that when you agreed to help Will save Elizabeth just to use him as a bargaining chip to get back the Black Pearl. You would give me away if it meant you would be spared from the danger."

"And how would you know if that is the only essence of who I am? So what if you've seen me or read about me before? That doesn't mean you know every single bit about me. I bet the authors don't know what's running through my mind in every single moment that passes by." He paused here in thought and had a slightly horrified look. "Do they?" Marine ignored his question and poked his chest angrily with her finger, making Jack wince in pain.

"If you think my perception of you is wrong, then prove it! Tell me why you never told me about your conversation with my clone. Tell me why you were so worried about me being the one in charge while you were still under recovery. And tell me why you decided to help me out for absolutely no reason at all!"

"Do you really want to know?!" Jack shouted, his brain finally snapping in irritation. "The reason why I never told you about your bloody clone is because I was afraid of becoming under suspicion! I'm not a bloody idiot Marine. I know what everyone would think as soon as I told you about it; that I would betray you just to get what I bloody want and to escape danger from the clone. You would never trust me once that doubt starts to grow, and you'd use that trust against me just so you could do whatever you want with my bloody ship! My life is already filled with traitorous, secretive bastards and I don't need you or Carrie to be added to that list. The two of you have trusted me throughout this adventure so far, and I didn't want that to go away." When he stopped he realized what he was doing and took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger as light as he could make it. Marine looked at him in surprise, and that gave him the motive to go on.

"Back then, you had trusted me enough to tell me your true identity. You trusted me enough to go with you on this voyage to help you fight against your clone. You trusted me enough to tell me your worries and troubles after we departed from Port Nassau. When you were in need of help, you trusted me to help you. When I asked you to trust me when we were discussing about Carrie, you said yes. Don't deny it. I never forced you to trust me and my judgment, you just did. And that really bugs me a lot! Because I've never encountered someone who trusts me wholeheartedly, knowing who I am and what I do. In all this time that I've known you, you have never betrayed my trust and stayed loyal throughout this adventure. You knew that I was a liar, a cheater, and a man who would betray others to save myself and yet you still trusted me with all this."

"But that's cause...I never...but I..." Marine found herself at a great loss for words. She realized that everything Jack had said was true. Before the trust broke apart, she had done nothing but believe in Jack. Then, as she thought more of it, she looked away from him and spoke in a mumble, "No, I haven't told you everything I knew. I still didn't tell you where Cornelius told me the treasure was buried in. So you can't really say that I trust you completely.

"But if I had asked then, before this whole situation erupted, you would have told me the location. My point is, you trusted me enough to tell me everything you know and not to question too much on what I was planning to do.

"Fine then. I did trust you Jack...I didn't want to believe that lying and cheating were the only things you were capable of. And it would have been better if you had told me the truth rather than hid it from my knowledge. At least I would have given you a chance. That's just how I think. I would never abuse you or your trust if you do trust me the way I trusted you. You never gave me a reason not to trust you so I found no reason to be suspicious of you..."

"And I still haven't." Jack said, pulling her arm closer towards him and forcing her to face him eye to eye. "Look Marine, I'm really sorry about keeping what I knew a secret from you. If I had known that it would turn out this way I would have shouted it out to the whole world. I would do anything to have our relationship back to the way it was before; back when you still trusted me like a friend." Marine looked down as she gently pried her arm away from Jack's hold.

"Why?" She whispered. Jack froze at the question and began to move back from her. Marine waited for an answer and realized that, because he couldn't answer it right away, she didn't want to know. The silence was thick and awkward to both pirates and so Marine broke it, having had enough.

"It would never go back to the way it was Jack...what's done is done. There's nothing we can do about that." Jack dropped his arms to his sides and couldn't look at Marine. He didn't want to look like a desperate and pathetic man so he just left it at that. But he widened his eyes in surprise as he felt Marine move closer to him.

"I have a bad feeling that I'm going to regret this decision in the future, but I've had enough of worrying about that. After all, a very good friend of mine told me long ago that I shouldn't waste my time worrying about something that shouldn't be worried over. Therefore, I think that instead of trying to go back to the past, we should start this so-called relationship all over again. And this time, we're going to trust each other 100 percent no matter what happens." She turned her head to face him with a small smile. "Do you think you're up for it, Captain Jack Sparrow?" Jack was at a loss for words, but he could feel happiness spreading throughout his self as much as he hated to admit it. He blinked then cleared his throat before giving her his trademark grin in return.

"I always did love a good challenge."

"Any sign of them?"

"Nothing."

"...Maybe you're not looking hard enough."

"Oh shut it Sparrow. Why don't you stop sitting on that damn throne of yours and help me look for the ship?"

"I can't find the ship now when it's getting dark."

"Then help me look for it tomorrow."

"Can't you see this awful injury I have that's killing me? Have you no mercy towards the injured? You shouldn't be forcing me to do all these tiring work when my health is still recovering."

SLAP!

"Ow! What was that for?"

"If you're still alive after that then I'm sure you can survive walking and looking for a ship."

"...damn wench." Marine stopped what she was doing - which was preparing the fire - and looked over her shoulder at Jack. Then she gave him what most would call Jack's trademark grin.

"Pirate." Jack frowned at Marine as he watched her go back to making a fire with two flint stones.

"That's my line! You can't steal that."

"Well I don't see your name on said line. Therefore it's not yours to own and to decide who can use it." Marine replied as she fumbled with the rocks. She narrowed her eyes when, no matter how many times she scraped them together, she couldn't get them to make a spark. Jack continued to watch for a few more moments before heaving a heavy sigh and moving closer to her. Before Marine could open her mouth and say a word, he had taken the stones from her and began walking out of the cave they were in.

"Hey! Where are you going with those stones?"

"To a place where we could actually make a fire." Jack answered. Marine narrowed her eyes and grumbled as she stood up from the pile of wood she had made and carried it out closer to the shore, where Jack was currently standing and waiting for her. She dropped them in front of Jack and sat down with her elbows propped against her legs and her head leaning on her hands. She looked at him expectantly, like a child waiting for a magician to perform his trick. Jack ignored her stare and kneeled before the pile then began to scrape the two stones together. After a few tries a spark caught the tip of the wood and began to form a large fire. He looked up at Marine and gave her a smug grin. "See? Not so hard if you have the experience." Marine snorted as she rolled her eyes.

"Right...and I guess three days on a deserted island drinking nothing but rum is experience enough for a great pirate like yourself."

"Hey! Do not make fun of what I've gone through in the past. It was horrible you know, especially the second time when you conspired with Elizabeth to burn all the rum." Marine smiled and chuckled as she remembered what had happened before.

"Yeah, well too bad there's no rum on this island. If there was it would have been fun to burn it all again." Jack said nothing but was giving Marine a very irritated frown as she looked up at the sky and laughed. He watched her for a while and couldn't help but smile at seeing her so happy. Marine stopped laughing a few minutes later but continued looking up at the sky.

"Jack?"

"Hm?"

"Was I really so pathetic before all this?" She asked. Jack tilted his head to one side and stared at her in confusion.

"What was that love?"

"From the day we met each other in Tortuga, on the day we escaped my clone, and up to the day when I left the ship to ride on a rowboat...I don't know. I just feel so stupid for everything I've done then. I was being too selfish; I only thought of my problems and my issue with the clone. I never even bothered to consider what you, or Carrie, or Elizabeth, or Will, or even Norrington for that matter, had to say about it. I've been doing things, making decisions, forcing you guys to go with me every time we encounter a problem. I never even bothered to think of whether you actually wanted to do all this; if you guys wanted to risk your lives just to help me." She wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled her knees closer to her chest. She rested her chin on her knee and let a small tear fall down from her eye. "It's my fault that my foster parents were killed. I don't want the same to happen to you guys." Jack recalled what Carrie had said back then, and gave a soft sigh as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look love, what Carrie said back there...it wasn't really intended. I mean, she would never think of you that way. She was angry; you were both angry and stressed out. It's good to let out a little steam from time to time. Keeps ye from being daft. I should know. I've been there." Marine's expression stayed the same even with Jack's attempt to cheer her up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before holding her chin and forcing her to look at him. "Marine, if there's anyone in the world I know who isn't selfish, it's you. The reason why Elizabeth, Will and I agreed to go with you was not your fault. We wanted to help you out. If you think you were forcing us to do something we didn't like then you're a bugger. You know how forceful Lizzie could be when she wants something. You're not to blame for everything that's happening now. And Carrie, well it's not your fault that she came here and it's not her fault either. Things just...happen. You were worried about her because unlike you, she has no experience in pirating whatsoever. And you didn't want her to get hurt both physically and mentally from all this. That's natural for someone who cares about their loved ones."

"And Norrington?"

"Nory's just a big old pansy who has no say in this whatsoever." Marine laughed and looked at Jack with a smile on her face. Jack smiled back at her. "Yes, I admit that you went a wee bit overboard after hearing about my little talk with your clone," At this Marine narrowed her eyes and raised one skeptical eyebrow at him. Jack ignored her and went on. "...but aside from that, you're still the same sly, annoying wench I saved from drowning all those months ago. And I don't find any reason why you should change who you are now." Marine felt her heart swell and her stomach flutter with butterflies. She turned a slight shade of pink and looked away from Jack so he wouldn't see her face.

"Thanks for cheering me up Jack." She mumbled.

"Anytime love. Anytime." The pirate returned and lied back on the sandy shore. He placed his arms under his head and closed his eyes, reveling in the peaceful sounds of the waves crashing on the shore and the sound of crickets calling each other from the forest. After a short moment of silence, he spoke up again. "You know what? I'm feeling a lot better now that I've gotten my well deserved rest. I think that I'll be well enough to handle watching out for the ship to-" He couldn't finish his sentence as he felt light, soft lips cover his own. He widened his eyes and felt his whole body freeze as Marine kneeled on top of him and kissed him gently. He closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of sand, sea and her own natural sweaty scent. It made his mind feel hazy and dazed. Of all the crazy things he thought Marine was capable of, he never thought she would be capable of this. Before he could have the chance to react, Marine pulled away, stood up, and began walking away from him, just along the shore. Jack sat up and simply stared at her retreating form; his mind still fuzzy from what had just transpired a few seconds ago. He let his fingers touch his lips, and pulled them away quickly as if burned by hot metal.

That was very unexpected...and not fair. She shouldn't have done that. Between the two of us it's usually me who makes the first move. No woman beats Captain Jack Sparrow in making the first move. No one's supposed to catch me off-guard. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands vigorously before falling back onto the sand.

"Bloody wench..." A few minutes after Marine left, his ears picked up the sound of rustling leaves and footsteps headed his way. He immediately sat up from the ground and narrowed his eyes at the direction where the sound came from. His hand fell to his pistol which lay on the holster hanging on his belt. As soon as the leaves in front of him moved back to reveal a person, he aimed his gun and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened when he did though, and he realized that it was still wet from his earlier trip into the water during the storm. He cursed as he dropped his useless gun to the ground and watched the newcomer make his way towards him with a gun in his hand.

Marine was making her way back to where their temporary camp was after noting that it was going to be too dark to see anything soon. After walking away from Jack without saying anything, she sat down on a rock in the forest and reveled in the peace and quiet. Things somehow always become hectic whenever she was close around Jack. The most recent stunt she did surprised even herself. She never thought she would have the guts to kiss Jack first when he's been making the first move ever since. She wondered what Jack was thinking off right now, and what kind of reaction she was going to see when she came back later. Somehow the unpredictable pirate made her uncomfortable. She had no idea what he was going to do about it, and it truly scared her out of her wits. That was why she took her time in coming back, struggling with the darkness for as long as she could.

She half-hoped that Jack would be asleep by the time she arrived. Then it would make things less troublesome for her. For one thing, she could claim not to remember a thing that happened when morning came. Or if she was really lucky, Jack would have forgotten all about it.

Her head turned upwards at the dark sky that was already twinkling with stars. Without the life in the city, the electric lights coming from all the neon signs, streetlights and windows of both houses and buildings, the stars were able to shine and be seen by anyone standing outside. It was an advantage of being on a place where technology hasn't reached that far yet. The sight of all the stars in the sky reminded her of the time she and Jack were talking about constellations on the deck of the ship. She suddenly gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists.

Everywhere I go I think about that damn annoying pirate! She gave a very heavy sigh and went on with her walk. I might as well go there now. That way I can just get this stupid thing over with and stop thinking about Jack Sparrow.

But as she got nearer to their campsite, she began to feel more and more suspicious. Somehow without even seeing it, she sensed that there was something terribly wrong. Worried about Jack, she moved faster and pushed a couple of vines away as she came out of the forest and saw the shore before her. She turned her head to the side and widened her eyes in surprise when she saw Jack being held by a couple of pirates and her clone, standing right beside him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my so-called twin. How's life been for you so far?" She asked with a wide grin on her face. Marine widened her eyes and gaped her mouth open in shock.

"W-w-what the hell are you doing here?!" She shouted as her hands fell to the pistol on the holster hanging on her belt. "Leave me alone and get lost or else-" Before she could get her hands on her gun, she felt a cold metallic barrel behind her back.

"Or else what? You'll kill us? Now, now, now my dear. You can't do that. If you do, then I'll make sure that when my man fires, you'll still be living long enough for me to get your half of the soul. Either way you can't kill me because that would mean you'd never get my half of the soul." Her clone said.

"How'd you find us?" Marine asked. "We were too far away for you to follow us directly." The clone retained the wide smile as she turned her head to Jack.

"Well we had some help of course. We wouldn't have gotten here if it wasn't for you, right Jack?" She asked as she turned her head to the person she was speaking to. The pirate widened his eyes in surprise and sharply turned his head to Marine who stood there in stunned silence.

"Don't listen to a thing she says Marine! I didn't do it! I would never do that to you."

"Oh really? Because a while ago, you were begging me to take Marine away from you so you wouldn't be involved in her problems any longer. Didn't you tell me that you would rather save your life than risk it for someone like her?"

"I never said anything like that." Jack said indignantly. His pleading eyes settled on Marine. "You have to believe me Marine. Do you think I would break your trust just after getting it back a while ago?" Marine looked down, her hair covered her whole face and kept anyone from seeing her expression. The clone's face looked mildly surprised as she moved her gaze from Jack and Marine.

"Am I hearing things correctly? Break your trust? It seems I've stepped into quite a tense relationship here." She walked around Jack until her back was in front of him. "Then again, I wouldn't expect any less from my dear old Marine. We think alike you know, and so I know that you became suspicious of him after I told you about our little meeting. But I never thought you'd give him a second chance this quickly. You've gotten worse than I first expected."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Marine asked while gritting her teeth in frustration. The clone smiled back mysteriously.

"Oh you and I both know exactly what I meant by that."

"Stop comparing yourself to me!" Marine snapped. "We don't think the same way and we never will! You and I are never going to be alike!" The clone laughed aloud all of a sudden, making Marine's irritation grow even larger.

"Oh that's really priceless! Just so you know, in case you have forgotten, I am a part of you. Therefore I have your looks, your skills, your mind, your personality and your way of thinking. It's impossible for the two of us not to be alike." She said.

"From the moment you parted from my soul, you were entirely different from me." Marine growled. "Don't ever claim to be me."

"Oh I won't. Who would want to be a poor half-broken woman who gave her trust to a pirate twice in a row? That's just plain stupid if you ask me." She said with a grin. Marine narrowed her eyes at her clone but as she ran forward with her fist pulled back, it was to Jack she had set her target on. To everyone's surprise, she landed a very hard punch to Jack's cheek, sending the two of them crashing to the ground. Marine sat above Jack with tears falling down from her eyes. And with a loud cry she began to beat Jack as hard as she could.

"Damn you Jack Sparrow! Damn you to hell! I trusted you, you bloody backstabbing bastard! How could you betray me just after we swore to each other never to lose one another's trust again? Why don't you just die and go to hell you stupid stupid ass. I should have never agreed...I can't believe how stupid I was to believe half the crap you were telling me." She shouted while she punched him repeatedly. Jack couldn't and didn't want to fight back. He just stayed silence and tried to block her attacks with his hands as much as he could.

"It's too late to have regrets now...you've made your decision and because of it you're going to fall into your impending doom." Marine's clone said. It had no effect on Marine whatsoever; she still continued to attack Jack with heated passion. With a hesitant sigh, she raised her hand and gave her men a signal. The other pirates looked at each other before moving closer to Marine. They surrounded her and had to struggle a lot before they managed to restrain her and pull her away from the pirate. By that time Marine had already given Jack enough damage to keep him from moving from his spot. The clone walked towards Marine and waited for the other woman to recover her breath before speaking.

"That was very childish of you. But I give you points for venting your anger on Jack. It was his fault you're being captured now. You were unpredictable, though you are too pissed off and in rage to be thinking straight. If you were really thinking, you would know that resistance is futile and you ought to just give up and come with us instead of wasting your energy and strength on something as stupid and pathetic as beating someone up." She said. The clone's men stepped back apprehensively as Marine jerked her hand away from their hold. But instead of fighting back like the men had feared, she slumped her shoulders and let her head hung low in defeat. The clone was satisfied and nodded to the men as a signal. The pirates moved closer to Marine and tied her up with a rope before pulling her away towards their ship.

Jack was still lying down on the ground while all this was going on. He had no strength to fight back and try to save Marine from their clutches. His hands scooped up sand and he crushed this as hard as he could, releasing all his frustration on it, knowing that he couldn't save Marine in his current state and let her know that he was telling the truth and that he didn't betray her. The clone was the last to leave him there, but before she did, she walked up to him and looked down to gaze at him with mock pity.

"You poor, poor thing. Did her attack hurt you that much?" Jack narrowed her eyes at the clone then turned his head away from her gaze.

"Just leave me alone."

"As you wish. It is, after all, part of our deal." She gave him a smile that reminded him of Marine's then walked away. "Thanks for helping me get to her Jack Sparrow." Jack said nothing as he listened to the clone's footsteps fade away until there he couldn't hear anything except the waves crashing onto the shore. His body was still too sore to move about but he forced himself to sit up. Grunting and wincing in pain, Jack looked around to see the extent of Marine's attack on him. Most of her punches had landed on his chest and stomach, but for some strange reason she had strayed away from his injury. The left side of his cheek was throbbing in pain, and he could feel it beginning to swell. He wished more than ever to have a bottle of rum in his hands right now.

The fire he made continued to blaze and make black smoke rise into the air. And it was at that moment when a ship passed by the island and caught sight of it. A rowboat was lowered and people with two lanterns began to row towards the island as quickly as they could. Jack immediately recognized the ship and fell back onto the sandy ground with a loud thud.

Couldn't they have come sooner than this? Bugger them...