What…?

What's going on?

And why is it so bright?

I opened my eyes and the terrible brightness got a thousand times worse. I hurriedly shut them again and continued to lie where I was. I was hot. Far too hot. Uncomfortably so. It would probably have been a thousand times better if there had been some wind, even just a little bit to breeze past me, whisper in my ear and let me know that I wasn't about to boil to death anytime soon. As it was, I was fairly convinced that I would soon start evaporating where I lay. If there's no wind… am I inside? I reasoned that I must be because there was no way that anywhere that was outside would have absolutely no wind. I opened my eyes slowly.

Oh.

Wasn't expecting that.

Wasn't expecting that at all.

Above me was a seemingly endless sky that was so clear that I don't think it would have known what a cloud was unless one had floated up to it and introduced itself in a loud and clear voice. Or maybe it would need it in writing, just so it could be completely sure what a cloud was. Now, it may sound like a sky that clear would be a good thing- that it would be bright blue and beautiful. It wasn't. The sun was so bright and blinding that it had pushed the colour right out of everything, which was not only rude, but also extremely unpleasant. The harsh rays had faded the usual blue from the sky until it was pasty and pale and almost white. It was strange and not in a good way. I frowned and sat up, squinting against the harsh glare.

Where the hell am I?

Oh.

Yet something else I wasn't expecting.

I had woken up on the deck of the Pearl with absolutely no recollection of how I had got there. It was not the first time that had happened, but there were many things about the situation that didn't add up. Firstly, this could not possibly have been the bamboozling result of a good and alcohol-fuelled night. I did not have a head ache or an empty bottle in my hand. What was strange and horrible about the situation… was how still it was. There was no sign of anyone on deck.

Where the hell has my crew gone?

I never gave them a day off… are they all in bed?

And where the hell am I docked?

…wait… there's something very, very wrong here.

The Pearl wasn't moving, not even a little bit. At first I had put that down to my reasoning that we must have been moored or docked somewhere, but there were two things wrong with that theory. The first was that I didn't have the faintest clue where that would be; I had no memory of giving any orders for us to go anywhere or even a slight notion in my head of a port or place that may have taken my fancy. The second was the very same issue that had first made me question my whereabouts- we weren't moving. Even when moored or docked a ship still moves, still pitches a little from side to side. It rises up and down ever so slightly in a way that lets you know that you're still afloat, which is a good thing to be aware of. It's a lot like a ship is breathing, to let you know that she's still alive.

Have we run aground, then?

…No, no that can't be it.

As well as water not moving us, there was no sound of it from anywhere. Usually you and hear the sea if you're anywhere near it. And you can hear it especially loudly if you are on a ship. The waves aren't quiet when they're nudging at the bow of your vessel and encouraging you to go back out to sea. Even in the quietest harbours, you can always hear the see knocking on the hull. But now… now there was nothing. So there was no way that we could have run aground. Something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. But what? What was it? I stood up and winced. All my joints and muscles were stiff and sore. Aching as if they hadn't been used in a long time.

What the hell is going on?

I looked up the sails of my ship. They hung there, limply, unmoving, confirming more than ever that there was not even the slightest hint of a breeze in wherever I was.

How am I supposed to sail with no wind?

And… no crew?

I had expected that someone might have got up by now. I know my crew are lazy and sleepy buggers at the best of times, but this was outstanding even for them. How could anyone sleep on such an unnaturally bright day? I moved out of the heat and down into the crew's quarters, fully expecting to be knocked off my feet by the level of snoring that usually blasts from the filthy men in their filthy bunks, but I was greeted by more silence. The silence felt.. heavier now. "Master Gibbs!" I called out and then I jumped at the sudden noise I had made. I looked around to check that nobody had seen me startle myself. Then I looked around again to check that they weren't all hiding from me in some terribly obvious place for their own stupid amusement. I'll make them walk the plank if that's what they're up to… nope. Nobody's hiding. I'd be able to spot Gibbs, he's the worst hider I know. "Master Gibbs!" I called again, louder than before and this time completely prepared for my own voice to break the silence. I listened for a reply, a noise, the sound of someone falling over, but there was nothing. "Answer me man!" I shouted, but no answer came.

I made my way down into the cargo hold, but it was empty. Empty of food, empty of people… empty of rum.

The rum's gone too? This is serious.

"Master GIBBS?" I should as I ran back up onto the deck. I wasn't expecting there to be an answer, which was good because it meant that there was no disappointment this time. I scanned the deck again. Empty

Alright, Jack-y… when was the last time you saw Gibbs?

… I don't know.

When was the last time you saw anyone?

… Okay, I don't know that either. I don't like these questions. At all.

I sat back and tried to remember what my last memories were. Obviously, I remembered The Pearl, but where had I last gone with her? And where was I now? Frowning against the glare of the sun, I looked out to the horizon.

Oh.

Well that's…

…different.

It really wasn't what I was expecting. The Pearl was landlocked. I had well and truly run aground. So much so that there wasn't a little piece of sea in sight. Not even a speck of blue to be seen, not a puddle or even a dribble of it. It was literally a sea of land. Well… this is not my favourite view. I much prefer when there's not a dribble of land in sight. This is exactly the opposite of my favourite. My un-favourite, as it were. It wasn't even interesting land. It was all one colour spreading on and on forever. White. White sand for all eternity. White was absolutely the worst colour that it could have been. It meant that there was nowhere to escape from the harsh sunlight. It reflected it back me, right into my eyes, making me squint at it. It was horrible. There's no way to sail out of land. There was no visible way out of this. I couldn't walk. That harsh white desert would kill me before I could reach the sea… if there even was any. Nothing could survive that place. It was empty and barren with nothing growing or living in it at all.

Am I the only living thing in sight?

I looked around again.

It would seem so, Jack-y.

I sighed. Where is everyone?

I almost opened my mouth again to shout for someone, but didn't. I knew it would be hopeless before I'd even begun. Looks like I've only got myself to talk to… I looked around again. …which is fine, I don't need anyone else. I'm always the best half of any conversation anyway, so now that there's only one of me, surely that means that all of the conversation will be good all of the time.

I realised that my mouth was still open and ready to shout, so I shut it abruptly. Best not to start talking to yourself. That's the first sign that you've gone mad.

I'm sure that would be an easy thing to go in a place like this.

How did I get here?

Right, c'mon Jack, how'd you get here? Remember. What do you remember?

Many things… but are they in the right order?

I sat down with my back against the rail, away from that barren hell and pulled my knees up to my chin. Port Royal. I remembered being there. I remembered being there without the Pearl. Now why would that be? I was in jail, I remembered that. But then what? I remembered being on the Pearl and at the Isla De Meurta. But was that before or after I'd been in jail? And who was with me? And how had I ended up here…?

Why is this so difficult to remember?!

The frustration that welled up inside me made me want to throw something. I was trapped. Completely trapped here. I couldn't even see the sea. I couldn't even smell it. It might as well not have existed at all for all it mattered to me. I hate the land. I hate it. Why am I here?

At least I'm alone.

Not idiots to clog up my life.

The silence crushed down on me.

Maybe one idiot wouldn't be so bad…

Not because I need company… maybe just to laugh at.

No. This is stupid. I stood up and walked to the wheel. My head was always clearer up there. I don't need anyone. I leaned on the wheel and looked out over that bright, bleak landscape. You'll need to find a way out of this one, lad. I turned the wheel in my hand just in case by some miracle it was possible to sail on this kind of terrain. Of course nothing happened… clearly miracles didn't reach here, wherever 'here' was. I looked again at the limp sails, having to squint against the ridiculously bright glare of that giant sun. The sun was not only brighter than I was used to, it also seemed bigger… and as if there was more of it, but not in a good way. It looked like it might be about to grow so big that it could consume me whole. That might not be such a bad thing.

Is that what happened to everyone else?

Did the world end for everyone but me?

My loss of memory was not only frustrating me, but also starting to worry me a lot. I had memories, but they were so jumbled and so hazy that I couldn't piece them into any kind of order. It was difficult to know what I had been doing and when I had been doing it, which made it harder to place simple things like who I was.

No, that's still easy.

I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. The one and only.

With that decided, I made it my mission to find out why I was here and how I had got here. If there was one thing that I remembered about myself it was that nothing was impossible for Captain Jack Sparrow.

Think, Jack. Think.

Who do you remember….?

Hector Barbossa.

I did my best to gather everything I knew about Barbossa and collect it into one neat and tidy little pile in a section of my mind. He had a stupid beard. Scraggly and unkempt. And a stupid hat, one that was larger than mine. Did he also have a monkey? Or was that a dream? I didn't know, but the thought of that monkey filled me with hate. I also wasn't sure how I felt about Barbossa. There was resentment inside me, but I couldn't think why. He's my First Mate, surely I shouldn't resent him. I pictured him and felt inexplicable rage. Wait… IS he my First Mate?

Gibbs! Gibbs! I remember Gibbs.

Silly little sideburns. He was a funny looking man, but in a much friendlier way than Barbossa. I didn't feel any resentment towards him when I thought about it. There was a slight bit of annoyance there, but that was down to his intrusive personality, nothing to do with him necessarily being a bad person. Gibbs has never wronged me. Had Barbossa? I frowned and felt my hands shake.

The mutiny.

The Pearl.

Of course.

I looked around at her, remembering that she had been taken from me and that I had been left to die. Obviously I had gotten her back, or I wouldn't be standing on her now. But how? How had that happened? Did I kill the mutineers? I hope so. It would explain why they're not here.

The Isla De La Meurta… I'd remembered that earlier… what had happened there?

Firstly I had assumed that I had been there to get the treasure I'd been aiming for, but obviously that was not the case. The mutiny had stopped that. So why had I been there? I had definitely seen the treasure. I was sure of it, but I don't think I had any of it for myself. Why?

Cursed. It was cursed.

I strained to remember what happened next, but it was blurry and hazy in my memory. It wasn't exactly as if it ended there, it just got more jumbled. I couldn't be sure what had happened before the Isla De La Meurta and what had happened afterwards. I wasn't even entirely sure what had happened on the island itself when I had got there. Had that led me to be in this godforsaken place? If so, how so? I didn't know. I couldn't see the relationship between the two events, the two places. At least the Isla De La Meurta was near the sea, and at least it had treasure, even if it was cursed. There was nothing shiny here. Nothing of value. No silver or gold.

Not all treasure is silver and gold mate.

…Ooooh!

I remember that being said.

Who said that?

Me. I'd said that.

How profound of me.

But who had I said it to? And why?

Will.

I had completely forgotten about him, but I couldn't understand how that was even possible. Will. William Turner. The stupidest Eunuch I ever met. What did I remember about him?

He's a Eunuch.

Yes… what else?

William. William. Remember William. I closed my eyes and tried to picture him. That had helped before. I repeated his name over and over and over again. It wasn't pleasant to continuously think about the ugliness of his face, but I have a feeling that it was important. Important if for nothing else, but for my own sanity… which, I had already decided, was highly important for me to keep while I was in this place. It would be very easy to go mad here. And a mad person would not have the smarts to get out of here. A hint of insanity is always necessary in creativity. You need it to create something brilliant and clever. And I am brilliant and clever and creative, but that hint of insanity has to stay a hint or you'll end up as twisted as Barbossa. Or worse- completely incapable of doing anything. Which would mean that I would never, ever get out of here. WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU KNOW ABOUT WILLIAM TURNER?

He has a strumpet he can't woo.

YES! Good… finally. Something.

Now, who is she?

Elizabeth... Elizabeth! Elizabeth Swann.

God I'm getting good at this.

She was easier to remember now that I could couple her with Will. Is she with Will? They sure as hell were annoying enough not to have gotten together the very first moment that everyone realised that they were in love. God, I hate couples like that. If they weren't together when we were on the Isla De La Meurta then surely there was a reason for that… someone had to have come between them.

Norrington.

Ooooh….

Norrington. Is…

Is… Is that his name?

He was a Goon, Commodore of the Goons to be specific. And I hated him. I knew I hated him, but not as much as I hated Barbossa. There was also something else going on… something that made me feel a little bit uncomfortable. There's a little bit of me that wants the Commodore to like me… to trust me. Why…?

To trick him into doing something?

Possible… but no, no. That's not it. It's something far more complex than that. Tricking him wouldn't require him to like me, he's pretty stupid.

To steal his ship then?

No. That's easy too. I've done that before.

What was it? What could it be? What on earth could be important enough for me to want a goon to approve of me?

His sister.

My train of thought stopped in its tracks. Something inside me flipped and turned over and jolted all at once. His sister, I thought to myself again. I know her. And I didn't need to question myself on any detail concerning her either. I knew them all. I knew what she looked like. I knew what she sounded like. I knew the way she smelt, the way she smiled, the way her eyes lit up when she laughed. I know how beautiful she is. I knew it more when she was happy than at any other time. I knew that I felt a deep need to make her happy as often as I possibly could. To make her laugh. I know her happiness. I also knew what she was like when she was angry- usually with me- when her face flushed and her lip curled and her eyes flashed with a fury that was both utterly terrifying and a little bit sexy all at the same time. I know how feisty she can be. I knew what it was like to talk to her, properly talk to her. And she would listen without judgement. I knew the way that she would protected me no matter what I told her. I know what it is to trust her. I knew what she was like when she was sad, when her heart was broken. The way the pain in her soul pooled in her eyes, crumpled her face and broke her heart. The way that seeing her in that state had made my heart ache.I knew what it was like to comfort her when she cried, to hold her close to me and feel a burning need to make her better. I know her pain. I knew the way that she would hold back, just as tight. More importantly, I knew exactly how she would hold onto me when I needed it the most. I knew the way her eyes would fill with a compassion and an understanding that I had never experienced before. From anyone. I know what it is to be her friend. Yeah… I knew her alright. I knew everything.

I know what it is to love her.

It took a blink to make me realise that my eyes were wetter than they should be. I wiped them quickly. Then I realised that I could hear something. I could hear someone sobbing and I knew exactly who it was. I knew it well.

Where is she?

WHERE IS SHE?!

"Isabelle!" I shouted, hating the way that my voice echoed around an empty space and hating even more that there was no reply. "BELLE!" It's her I can hear crying. It's her. I had already checked everything below deck, but after checking my Cabin and everywhere above deck I re-checked everywhere I'd already checked, calling for her as I went. Nothing. The sound of her sobs were nothing to go by, they never got any louder or any quieter no matter where I went on the ship. She's not here. I sank down back into my previous spot on the deck with my back to the rail and my knees pulled up to my chin. I put my fingers in my ears to try and block out her cries, but they didn't get any quieter. "PLEASE BELLE STOP CRYING!"

The silence crushed down on me once more. Slowly, hesitantly I took my fingers out of my ears. She'd stopped, but I didn't feel any better.

"Where are you, Belle?" I muttered quietly to myself. I hope she's safe… is she safe?

When was the last time you saw her?

I don't know. I don't know anything.

She's not here, that's for sure.

I looked around again. "Definitely just me," I said out loud. Talking to myself now, eh? Does it count as madness when there's nobody else here to hear it? " 's good then."

"Lonely being alone isn't it, lad?"

I jumped. For a moment I thought it sounded like my father. "Who said that?" I asked. Because it sure as hell wasn't me.

"I did," the voice said again. I turned to look at the person sitting next to me. This cannot be real. "Or rather," he said. "You did."

The person sitting next to me… was me.

Hey :) So that may not have been what you were expecting at the start of AWE, but welcome to the first part of Jack's stint in the Locker. I want to spend a little bit more time on it than they did in the film, but as always, if you don't like it feel free to tell me :)

Review Replies for Chapter 36:

PirateNinjaCJS: I AM SO SORRY I MADE YOU CRY. Please think happy thoughts from now on. Thank you for your review though, it was absolutely lovely :') I'm just glad that you like Jack and Izzy as much as I do. It's a relief. And thank you very much for existing too my dear :P

GoTeamSkipper: Poor Jack indeed :( I hate that bit of the film, even though I know he'll be fine in the end. I don't know if Jack will ever find out Will's not a Eunuch, that could be interesting, haha. I feel much better thank you :)

Arianna Flamepelt: Aww, not you as well. There will be no more tears! I'm feeling a lot better thank you, and sorry that this took so long.

lilylilyfairfax: Thank you :) I'm glad you like it, don't worry I'm not planning on stopping any time soon :P

Thank you so much for reading everyone. Leave a review if you can.
I love you all.
LV xx