AN: Thank you to those who have reviewed! I really appreciate it. And I'm sorry for taking too long in updating. I had a lot of projects and exams to deal with this month. But it's almost at an end so I decided to post so you'd know that I'm still alive. Well then, here's the next chapter. Enjoy! And don't forget to read and review.

"And before you're going to ask me what I want it for, here lies all the answer to our questions." - Jack Sparrow

Chapter 26 - Behind the Lie

"Jack!" Elizabeth was the first to get close to Jack and kneeled beside him worriedly after placing the lantern to one side. She saw the large bruise on his cheek and was concerned as she saw more of them all over his chest. "What happened here? Who did this to you? And where's Marine?" The others caught up after this and looked at Jack's state with surprise.

"Actually love, all your questions have only one answer." The pirate muttered. Elizabeth looked at Jack expectantly, causing the pirate to sigh. "Marine's clone arrived on this island a while ago and took her away. That bloody wench made Marine believe that it was my fault and that I betrayed her when it actually wasn't true. Marine was so furious that she left me something to remember her by before she left with them." He explained. Carrie clenched her hands into fists and gritted her teeth in frustration.

"She's so inconsiderate of others' opinions!" She muttered. "Didn't she even try to think of Jack's own situation? Why would she believe the clone more instead of Jack?"

"Not her fault love." Jack said. "After all, I am who I am. And besides, she was not thinking straight. That clone got to her well." Everyone was surprised with his attempt to defend Marine that they almost didn't notice Jack trying to stand up. Gibbs moved up close to help him to his feet.

"Let's get back on the ship and see to those wounds of yours." He said. Then as they made their way back to the rowboat, Gibbs asked Jack a question. "What's our next heading Captain?" Jack raised his finger and was about to point to a direction when he realized that he still had no idea where they were supposed to meet AnaMaria's boat and faltered.

"I...I'll get back to you on that mate." Jack said. On the outside, he seemed calm and at ease. On the inside he was rampaging all over, trying to think of a plan to go after the clone and save Marine. Everyone hopped into the rowboat and went back onto the Black Pearl with the lanterns unlit so as not to be seen by unwanted eyes. The first thing Jack did was order some of the men on the crew to light lanterns up. He had been on the island for a while and he knew that it was uninhabited before he and Marine got there.

He was glad to feel the wooden planks under him and realized that he missed the soothing sway of the ship as it moved together with the waves. He walked together with Gibbs into his cabin but not before ordering the crew to continue sailing in the general direction they were going to before and to bring the doctor into his cabin plus at least five bottles of rum. Gibbs, Elizabeth and Carrie entered the room and began to deal with Jack's wounds while Norrington simply followed and watched them from the side. A few moments later Roderic arrived with a fresh set of bandages and a small bowl of clean water. Carter followed right behind the doctor while juggling five bottles in his hands. Elizabeth was helping Jack remove his vest and his shirt when she took note of the makeshift bandage wrapped around Jack's bullet wound.

"Did you fix that yourself while you were at the island?" She asked as she removed it and handed the slightly bloodied bandage to Jack. The pirate took it from Elizabeth and realized that it was a part of his old sash. He never remembered ripping the piece from the whole, but then again he couldn't remember a thing from when he was running a high fever. So he could only assume that it was the only other person with him on the island who had bandaged him up. He said nothing about it and instead grabbed one of the bottles from Carter and took a large sip. Elizabeth fought back a sigh as she helped Roderic clean Jack's wounds.

"Strange...if I attacked someone I was truly mad at, these wounds would have been worse than they are now." Gibbs pointed out as he watched. Jack stopped drinking and narrowed his eyes at his first mate.

"Are you implying that I should have been in a worse state than I am now? And you! Drop those bottles on the side of my bed and get back to work!" Carter immediately rushed to Jack's beside, almost spilling the rum in the bottles in his hurry to please the captain, then ran out of the cabin and closed the door with a bang. Once he was out of sight, Jack's attention was riverted back to Gibbs. "Well?" Elizabeth was about to say 'yes' in answer to Jack's question but thought better of it and shook her head. Jack was in a really bad mood, and she didn't need to fuel his anger and irritation more.

"No, he wasn't implying anything like that Jack. He just meant that Marine's attacks on you were weak. It must be the effect of her soul being parted into two."

"Sharpshooter Marine is weak?" Norrington interrupted. Everyone looked at him in surprise as he stepped forward closer to Jack. "Forgive my intrusion Mrs. Turner, but are you saying that someone like Marine could inflict such minor wounds on Jack in her full rage and fury? She has indeed grown weaker, but she is no fool." He pointed at Jack's chest as he continued to speak. "Marine is a pirate, and pirates play dirty. She would have punched Sparrow in the spot that hurts the most. But as you have noticed, all of the bruises on Jack' body stray away from the wound. It was as if she deliberately avoided hitting that spot."

"So you're saying that she wasn't really trying to beat up Jack or kill him? But I thought Marine didn't trust Jack anymore and hated his guts for it?" Carrie asked.

"Well technically we had spoken to each other and had mended our differences while we were on the island. It only came back when the clone appeared and told her that I betrayed her." Jack pointed out. "And that was the main reason why she was furious with me." He explained.

"Well then, it's possible that in her fury she had lost all sense of logic and just followed her primary instincts. Or what she did could mean something else entirely." Norrington said. Everyone stared at him, trying to understand what he was trying to say.

"And your point is...?" Jack asked. Norrington gave a frustrated sigh and rolled his eyes.

"I don't know. I was just giving out the facts. What you think of it doesn't matter to me." He said. He turned around and began walking towards the door. "I'll be outside helping the men." He closed the door behind him, leaving an awkwardly silent room. Both Elizabeth and Carrie looked at each other in confusion before the latter stood up.

"I'll go and see how the crew's doing." She nodded to each person in the room before walking out of the room and looking up at the dark sky. As she looked about, she caught sight of Norrington standing by the railing and couldn't help but smirk. She made her way towards him as silently as she could and stopped right by his side.

"So in what way are you helping the crew by standing there and looking out on the sea?" She asked with a grin. Norrington turned his head to her and smirked back.

"I help them by not being in their way. They're fine on their own with or without my help." Carrie couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"You have a point. So you don't mind if I stand here with you and help the crew by not doing anything as well?"

"Do whatever you wish. It doesn't matter to me." The two of them fell silent with nothing else to say. Carrie played with her fingers for a while before looking at Norrington with a serious expression on her face.

"...why did you say what you did a while ago?"

"Excuse me?" Norrington turned his attention to her with a confused look on his face.

"You said that you think it's possible that Vanessa was not angry at Jack...that she still trusted him somehow. That maybe Jack still has a chance to redeem himself with Vanessa." Norrington widened his eyes.

"I never said such a thing!" He scoffed. "Why would I say something like that to Sparrow?"

"You didn't say it, but you were hinting at it. Oh don't give me that look! I know what you tried to do back there and there's no use denying it. I think you were trying to give Jack hope in trying to save Vanessa or having the motivation to continue on with this voyage." Norrington gave a short, sarcastic laugh.

"Ha! Give him hope? The man's hopeless as a pirate. It would take more than what I did to give that man hope. The only reason I said it was to keep him from moping around the ship or being such an annoying captain to his crew, which unfortunately still includes me. He looked like he was going to do even more foolish and idiotic things while he's busy worrying about his feelings for that other pirate. We don't need the man in charge losing his sanity and bringing everyone else down with him." Carrie looked down on the ground after Norrington said this.

"So you noticed it too huh? That Jack somehow has stronger feelings for Vanessa compared to everyone else." Norrington didn't reply to her; merely continued looking at her. "And it's even more obvious that Vanessa has feelings for him as well. I can see it in their actions toward each other and the way they converse. It's a wonder they haven't noticed that yet."

"Hard to believe that the infamous Jack Sparrow is growing feelings for a young woman pirate." Norrington mused. "I myself think it's just something that my mind made up to amuse me. Pirates in love? The world must be turning upside down if things like that are happening." He said with a slight shake of his head.

"What? You think pirates aren't allowed to love? What about Jack? How did you think he came into existence? Poofed out of nowhere? And what about Will? His dad was a pirate too! But he loved his wife, Will's mother, as much as he loved his son." Carrie countered, her eyes narrowing at Norrington. "Just because you've had one impression of a pirate, doesn't mean that everyone else has the same personality."

"Why must you always defend those dirty scoundrels?" Norrington asked her. "Your wonderful fantasies of those types of people have deluded you from their real intent. These pirates are not going to show mercy to you or save you whenever you're in danger. Pirates steal, rape and murder people!"

"If that's what you think Norrington, then tell me why you're standing here on a pirate ship unharmed and free from the brig?" Carrie asked. "You're just to big-headed and stubborn to accept that there are people in this world who can be pirates and be good men at the same time. Not everyone is after the gold or the fame. Some, like Jack Sparrow, are in it for the adventure!" Norrington gritted his teeth in irritation and turned his back on Carrie. Then he began to walk away.

"Tell him that after he gets some kind of reward or treasure from all this trouble he's going through. Jack Sparrow never does anything without benefits to himself." Carrie continued to stand there and watched Norrington head towards the stairs leading below the deck. She waited until he was out of her sight before looking back up at the sky and giving out a loud and weary sigh.

"Am I really that childish and naive?"

One week passed by without any important event occurring and with the ship simply moving to no specific direction at all. Norrington's words did somehow give hope to Jack, and he's been keeping to himself in the Captain's cabin ever since. Part of the reason was because he had to recover from his injuries, but knowing Jack, he would have gone out of his cabin whether anyone has a say in it or not. Elizabeth didn't know whether to think of this as a good thing or a bad thing. Roderic and Gibbs were just glad that Jack was not hurting himself even further or giving the rest of the crew a bad time.

Elizabeth knocked on the cabin door and didn't wait for someone from the inside to open it. She already knew that no matter how much she knocked, no one was going to answer it. With a sigh, she asked one of the crew to open the door for her and entered the dark room. Although it was still daytime, the curtains drawn against the windows kept most of the light from coming into the room. The place felt gloomy and scary because of it. Elizabeth found Jack lying on his bed and simply staring up at the ceiling of the room as usual, and placed the tray of food she was carrying on the table across his bed. She looked at Jack and crossed her arms at him.

"When are you going to let us in your mind Jack?" She asked him. "You've been inside this room for a week now. Your injuries have recovered enough to make you mobile but you still prefer to stay inside here with those curtains drawn like some kind of depressed man." Jack said nothing in reply to her. This made the young blond haired woman frown. "Jack, we're all worried about you. You should be out there, steering the helm of your ship." This caught Jack's attention, and made him turn his head towards Elizabeth as he sat up on the bed. He had no shirt on since he had no bandages wrapped around his wound; Roderic had told him that letting it stay uncovered helps heal the flesh faster. His hair was messier than usual and his face was pale and thinner from not eating a lot. The only thing that remained in tact was his consumption of rum, as seen by the number of bottles scattered all over the floor.

"How can I steer my ship when I don't have a bloody idea where we're going? There are only two people who know the location of the Cursed Treasure. One is on the other ship and the other has been taken away by her clone. No matter how much I try, we would never get to the others in time." Jack told her.

"But you can't just sit there and do nothing about it!"

"I'm trying to do something." Jack countered. "I'm trying to remember every single conversation Marine and I had after our meeting with Cornelius. I'm trying to see if I could get an idea of where this treasure is from her words and her conversations with the old man."

"...and?"

"I have nothing. Both of them have been so secretive about the location that I couldn't even make a guess of where the chest could be hidden in."

"Maybe what Norrington said before was right." Elizabeth and Jack were startled by the new voice and swiveled their heads around to find Carrie standing by the door frame with her arms crossed. Ever since she and Marine had their fight, she was never cheerful for a long while. Her smiles always came in long intervals and they were quick to boot. It made Elizabeth worry for the other woman.

"Could you please explain that further love?" Jack asked. "Because I could barely remember a thing he said back then."

"Norrington said that maybe Vanessa wasn't really trying to beat you up or kill you. That it was to imply something else. Maybe a trick to make the clone believe that her plan in breaking your trust in each other work." She said. Jack placed a finger to his chin and furrowed his brows in thought.

"Go on..."

"Try to remember the time you were on the island, when you met up with Vanessa's clone. Could she have done something or said anything that would imply that she still trusted you?" Jack's frown grew as he thought about it. Even Elizabeth was looking expectantly at Jack, eager to see if Jack could get something out of what Carrie said; a lead in their endless circle of uneventful moments.

"The last time we talked was before she walked away from camp to...er...rest. Yeah that's right. After she walked away to take a break from taking care of me, the next time we were to see each other was when her clone arrived. She said nothing to me that seemed to say she still trusted me. And I don't think that anyone would beat up someone they trusted unless..." Jack's eyes widened as a thought came to his mind. Immediately he jumped out of the bed and went out of his cabin. Elizabeth and Carrie stood there in shock and turned around to watch Jack shout for Roderic. The doctor appeared around the corner and looked at Jack both in confusion and curiosity.

"What is it Captain?"

"Where's the shirt I was wearing before I came here?" He asked. "Where is it?" Roderic looked surprised and even more confused.

"Huh? Uh...I think I remember one of the crew washing the blood from it and bringing it back into your cabin after. Why do you need it Captain?" Jack grumbled as he turned around and walked back to his cabin without giving any answer to Roderic's question. He went past Elizabeth and Carrie, who were still by the cabin door looking at him strangely, towards his chest of belongings. He crouched before it, opened it and threw clothes, papers and other jewelries everywhere. One of the gold bracelets rolled towards the two women and landed in front of Elizabeth. She picked this up then walked towards Jack.

"What is it that you're looking for?" She asked him.

"My shirt. The one I wore while I was on the island. And before you're going to ask me what I want it for, here lies all the answer to our questions." He took out his white shirt from the chest with a triumphant sound and unfolded it as quickly as possible. He held it out in front of him and inspected it closely. After a while his face fell in disappointment.

"Where is it? If Marine was going to give me some kind of message then it must have been here." He stood up from the ground and made his way back out of his cabin.

"Roderic!" The doctor had not moved from his spot after Jack left and this made it easier for the Captain. "Where is the man who washed my shirt? I want to speak to him now! Well? What are you waiting for? Get moving!" The man shook his head clear of the previous shock and ran about the deck shouting for the name of the man he was looking for. A few minutes later the man himself came up to Jack, scratching his head and looking a bit fearful of his Captain. They have all seen him in his worst of moods and was afraid of what Jack was going to do to him.

"Aye Capt'n? What ye be callin' me for?" He asked.

"Did you recall washing this shirt for me after I came aboard the Pearl?" Jack asked as he waved his shirt in front of the man.

"Aye."

"Was there anything on this shirt? Paper? A sign? A message?"

"A message?" The pirate placed a finger to his chin in deep thought. "Well...I don't remember seeing any paper or any object on the shirt." At this Jack's shoulders slumped forward and his head hung down in defeat. The pirate swallowed a nervous lump in his throat and waited to see what Jack was going to order him next. Everyone watched Jack turn around and begin walking back into his cabin to their relief.

"Thank ye mate. Get back to work." The pirate immediately walked away from the front of the door in fear of angering Jack in his slowly darkening mood. Elizabeth and Carrie looked at each other in worry.

"Poor Jack...his hopes had come up high when I suggested the idea that maybe Vanessa left a message...maybe I shouldn't have said it." Carrie said guiltily. Elizabeth shook her head as she held Carrie's hand and squeezed them tightly.

"Don't say that Carrie! You had every right to say that and if you hadn't, then maybe there would have been no hope for Jack at all. At least you gave him strength and hope for a while." She said. Carrie didn't seem all that relieved or happy about it though.

PANT. PANT. PANT.

Fabric swirled around Elizabeth's legs and kept her from running as quickly as she could. Her breathing became short and ragged as she made her way through the dark corridor and up onto the main deck of the Black Pearl. Other men who were outside working stopped for a moment to look at Elizabeth before going back to their own businesses. Carrie was at the bow looking beyond the sea when she heard rushing footsteps and turned her head back in curiosity. She saw Elizabeth standing in front of the Captain's cabin and knocking on it over and over again. She jogged towards the other blond haired girl and tilted her head sideways.

"What on earth are you doing Elizabeth?"

"I have to tell Jack something important!" She explained between pounding the door and taking big, deep breaths. "Open the door Jack! Don't make me ask someone to knock it down. Please Jack! I've got something that will really interest you." Just as she was going to knock again, the door opened and revealed a not-so cheerful Jack Sparrow.

"What the bloody hell do you want?" He muttered. Elizabeth and Carrie were stunned into silence. They hadn't seen Jack after their previous discussion. Another one week had really brought Jack down to the lowest pit of hell. He looked broken and defeated, without any of that humorous glint of mischief in his eyes. He narrowed his eyes at the two women and began to close the door when Elizabeth broke away from her shock and held the door open.

"Jack! You have to see this! I think it's from Marine."

"What are you talking about? How would a message from Marine come to you?" He asked. Elizabeth took out a piece of crumpled paper in her hands and held it out to Jack. The pirate took this and uncrumpled it while Elizabeth was explaining how she had gotten it.

"I was down at the galley passing by the crew's quarters when I heard them talking about something they had found when you came onto the Black Pearl. They told me that it fell from you while we brought you to the cabin that night." Jack said nothing as he smoothed out the rumpled paper and read what was on it in silence. Then slowly, but gradually, he widened his eyes and grinned manically. A few seconds later his face fell and he furrowed his brows in deep thought. After a moment his eyes widened again this time in horror. He shot back into his cabin and came out looking a lot cleaner and fresher since he came back on the Pearl. He went past Elizabeth and Carrie again, who both stared at him strangely, while cursing silently to himself. Jack went to the main deck, running around and shouting orders to the crew as loudly as he could.

"Cotton turn us 180 degrees around! We're going back to Port Royal! Don't just stand there you lazy scallywags! Move it before I decide to throw you overboard to feed you to the sharks! Unfurl all the sails we have! I want us to pick up as much wind as we could get. Hop to it men!" At his command, the crew members of the Black Pearl began to move about the ship as quickly as they could. He caught sight of young Carter running together with the others and stopped him.

"Carter, go into my cabin and get me a piece of paper, and the quill and bottle of ink at my desk. Bring them to me." He ordered. Carter nodded and rushed off to get the things Jack needed. Elizabeth and Carrie, together with Gibbs who came to their side when he heard all the commotion, went up to Jack who had taken over Cotton's job at the helm and was steering the ship with newfound vigor.

"What's in your head Captain? If we went back to Port Royal then we'll never get to wherever it is that we're supposed to meet!" Gibbs complained.

"I know you're upset about not knowing where to meet Will and the others while Marine's clone has her captive on their own ship, but giving up like this isn't going to help." Elizabeth argued.

"Tell us what you know Jack!" Carrie cried in the end. Jack said nothing for a few minutes, making the three jump around in agitation. Then Norrington came and looked at them all with one eyebrow raised.

"What is going on here? Why are we heading back to Port Royal?" He asked and crossed his arms as he waited for an answer expectantly. Jack gave a heavy sigh as he turned his attention to them. Before he could open his mouth and answer, Carter came back with the materials he needed. Jack thanked the younger man and began to scribble on the paper furiously. Everyone tried to lean over to see what Jack was writing but the pirate was being too secretive about it and prevented anyone from taking a peek. Once he was finished writing he placed this on the pocket of his shirt and smiled in satisfaction. That was when he noticed all the strange stares he was getting from the others. He looked at them with a small frown and nodded slightly.

"All right. Since you're all so eager to know, we are going back to Port Royal to save Marine." This caught everyone by surprise. Carrie raised one eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you talking about? How can you save Marine if you're going to Port Royal when they're going somewhere else? If the clone really wanted to get Marine's half of the soul, wouldn't it be better for her if she went to the place where Cornelius and Vanessa's dad hid the Cursed Treasure? Just what was written on that piece of paper you got?" She asked him. Jack couldn't help but grin at everyone; it was the first time they've seen him so cheerful and so close to his usual behavior since he and Marine got into a fight.

"Well you see Carrie love, it would be well for them to head to said place if they knew where it was. And I'm very sure that Marine would rather die than tell them where it lies. They can't kill her as well because if they did then the point of capturing her alive would be pointless." He began.

"Just get to the point Sparrow." Norrington interrupted in irritation. But Jack ignored him and went on with his lengthy explanation, purposely making it even longer just to spite the former Commodore.

"So if we were to think like the clone, meaning think like Marine, trying to find the location of the place would be pointless and would waste a lot of time. Especially since we are riding on the fastest ship in the Caribbean, it wouldn't be well for her to risk wasting time for us to catch up to her. And so she has to find another way to get Marine's soul before we get to her. And what better way to solve all of her problems than to return to the place where Marine has first lost the coin she possessed intitally?" Everyone surrounding Jack widened their eyes in shock and realization. After the initial reaction, Elizabeth frowned with worry and concern.

"We have to get back there as fast as we could or it'll be too late!" She cried. "It's been two weeks already since Marine was taken by her clone. We might not get to her on time!"

"And that's exactly why we are setting sail back to Port Royal at full speed. Hopefully the winds shall be on our side and help our cause." Jack replied. "As for AnaMaria's ship and the others on board there, I shall be sending a letter to them when we arrive on the nearest island we could get to. After that it will be nothing but waters and sailing for us. Time is short so we must waste as little time as we could. I have a reputation to uphold as the pirate who owns the fastest ship on the Caribbean." Elizabeth looked at Jack in question.

"How are you going to send a letter to Will and the others if you don't know where we're supposed to meet?" She asked. At this question, Jack's face grew a very large and mysterious grin.

"Who said I don't know where it is?" If the group thought they couldn't be any more surprised, they were wrong. Carrie grabbed the front collar of Jack's shirt and shook him back and forth violently.

"You know where the treasure is?! WHERE IS IT? WHERE?? Why didn't you tell us any sooner?!" She shouted. Jack winced in pain from the volume of her shouts and tried to pry her hands away from his shirt as gently as he could.

"Now now Carrie, take it easy. I didn't know it until after you gave me this paper. I'm sure it was a message from Marine, telling us where we're supposed to go to help us get to Will and the others. But if she thinks that I'm going to leave her with her clone while we go to some island to get the cursed treasure then she doesn't know Captain Jack Sparrow as she thinks she does! Will and the others can go there and get it then meet up with us while we get back Marine into safe hands." Jack announced, making Elizabeth, Carrie and Gibbs smile cheerfully.

"Tell us Sparrow, where did Cornelius and Marine's father hid the treasure?" Norrington asked. Jack smiled as he passed the crumpled paper he had gotten from Elizabeth earlier to the others. Everyone moved around closer to read what was written on it.

Captain Edward Teague

"What does this mean? Who is this?" Elizabeth asked. Carrie slowly widened her eyes as she realized whose name it was.

"Edward Teague? But isn't that-" She cried in surprise. Jack looked at the younger blond haired woman and smiled as he quickly interrupted her.

"Aye lass, I am sure that you are very familiar with that name since Maria is. So have you figured out this secret place where Cornelius and her father kept the cursed treasure?"

"No. I still don't have any idea." Carrie said with furrowed brows. "I mean I know the name but I don't know what connection it has to the location." Elizabeth looked from Carrie to Jack and frowned.

"What on earth are you two talking about? Who is this man we are talking about?"

"Captain Edward Teague is Jack's father." Carrie explained. "If Marine wanted to tell Jack the location of the island, she would write it down so that no one would know of it. I think she was confident that her clone wouldn't understand that it was a location to something, but if the other pirates would then it would be trouble for her. So she used Teague's name to veer the pirates away from the real message; which was the location of the treasure. But I still don't get where this is." Carrie said as she turned her gaze to Jack once more. (1)

"So where is this location?" Norrington asked once more, gritting his teeth and trying to keep his anger and impatience in. Jack looked at them all with a serious face.

"Well since we are searching for a place, it must be associated with my father. Now my father was never much of an adventurer these days. I'm sure Marine knows that as well. She choose the name because she knew that there is only one place that is attributed to my father's name nowandays, though I don't understand why Carrie doesn't know of it. It is the place where my father is currently residing in; Shipwreck Cove."

(1) If some of you are wondering how Marine and Carrie knew about Jack's father when they had just watched the second movie, then the reason behind it is because it had already been planned out that Jack's father would appear in the second movie. But since Keith Richards was not available then (i think he was sick) they didn't get to show him there. Nevertheless, the information is still known among fans of the movie. And I'm pretty sure that they still don't know about Shipwreck Cove. As to how Marine knew of it, well you'll have to wait and see. If you still think there has been some mistake in what I did then I apologize in advance.