Disclaimer: I own only the plot. Disney owns the rest. Lucky bastards…

A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I was recently reminded that I reached over 400 reviews…and somehow, I completely missed it. **Smacks self** I'm a tad slow, then, it seems…but thank you all for your support! And remember about the bloodshed I promised you? Here it is...in modified form. The REAL bloodshed will come soon enough.

A/N2: Because ff.net is being such a pleasant wench tonight, it won't let me italicize what I need to be in italics. Thus, little asterisks such as * this, will indicate flashback. Sorry about that. These are the times when I hate ff.net.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Winds of Change The First Mate

* * He could see her eyes water…he could still feel her hand resting lightly upon his chest…he could hear her ragged gasps for air, the sound of death clutching its tight hands around her throat. It was the worst sound he had ever heard.

"Jack…" she had tried to sputter as blood dripped from her mouth to cascade down her neck rest on her white blouse. "Jack…"

He remembered trying to soothe her through a clenched throat. He could still recall his absolute resignation, the indisputable urge to shake her and yell at her, tell her she was stronger than this, urge her to live, to breathe…she couldn't leave him…not now…not ever.

"Hush, lass," he urged her. "Don't waste yer breath…"

"Jack…" she croaked again, clutching his bare chest where his shirt had been ripped. An explosion of cannon fire ricocheted over his head, and he ducked, instinctively covering her vulnerable body with his own. He could hear her shallow breathing as he rest his head on her chest, waiting for all of the debris to fall, protecting her from the blast…

"Lass," he gulped as he sat up, clutching her limp body to him.

Her breathing was rhythmic yet slowing…

"Don't give up, aye?"

It was slowly fading…

"Don't…"

It was gone.

Jack didn't know what to do with himself. He sat there, clutching Anamaria's lifeless body to his chest, panic-stricken and immobilized by despair. He could vaguely hear the shouts around him, only semi-aware of the water that was flooding the deck. He felt hands pull him up by the scruff of his collar, felt rough hands propel him away from her. He screamed and flailed about wildly, his eyes shining with anger, mistrust, denial.

But he didn't cry.

Perhaps he should have. He loved her…she was his most trusted companion, his best friend. At times, he felt she was even more than that. She was frugal, witty, bright and yet not overly educated to the point where she could take "no" for an answer, however logical it might be. She hadn't been gone for more than thirty seconds, and, as he felt his heart rip into pieces, he realized he already missed her.* *

"Jack."

If only he could take back the advice Gibbs had given him…

"Jack…"

If only he had been prudent. He knew the Navy wouldn't take prisoners…

"Jack!"

"What?" he mumbled sleepily. He kept his eyes shut, trying to drown out the light that was now trying to infiltrate his heavy eyelids. In all actuality, he kept them shut because it still enabled him to see her face…

"Jack, get up!" Now, hands were shaking his shoulders and he opened his eyes to look directly into the face of Will Turner.

"What do you want?" he asked grumpily. He was in no mood to carry on a lovely conversation at the moment.

"It's…it's…Jack, it's the Pearl."

There were a few moments of silence in which all that could be heard was the creaking of the ship upon the gentle waves. Then, somewhat of a forced chuckle was heard erupting from Jack's throat. "You haven't been drinking that rum of Dolan's, have ye? That's some strong stuff, even for me, and-"

"Jack, it's Barbossa."

A dry, croak-like cough emerged from Jack's mouth as he struggled to sit up straight, his hair hanging loosely about his face, his shirt off and his eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Barbossa…he's gaining on us," Will repeated urgently. "Jack…Dolan wants you out there now." As Jack still was dumbfounded that Barbossa had gotten the Pearl (considering it had been sunk to the bottom of the ocean by the Royal Navy), Will grabbed his arm and heaved him to a stand. "Come on."

Jack grabbed his shirt as Will dragged him out of his cabin. They emerged on deck to find Barley at the wheel as the rest of the crew frantically masted sail and secured the rigging.

"They're coming up right fast, reckon," came Dolan's voice from behind. Jack moved towards the side of the ship and, sure enough, he saw the Pearl's black sails flapping merrily in the wind. "She's gainin' on us, Sparrow," Dolan mumbled. "She's a fast wench."

"Aye…fastest ever made," Jack muttered, still eyeing the Pearl. He turned to Dolan. "When did she show up?"

Dolan shook his head. "No idea. Luckily, Ingrid was on watch…ol' mum spotted them outta a rightly thick fog…lucky she were paying attention, reckon."

Jack cursed under his breath. There was no outrunning them. As he looked from Dolan's face to the Pearl again, he let out an exclamation as he saw the two ships were now merely one hundred meters from each other, and closing fast. He tore his eyes away from his ship and said, "Look…get yer men down from there." Gesturing with a heavily ringed hand, Jack motioned to the rest of the crew who was dangling from the main mast's rigging, apparently trying to force it to catch non-existent wind. "Next, get all your swords, daggers, what have you. We're going to be boarded."

"You're daft," screamed Johnson who was quickly climbing down the mast. "Ye can't expect us to wait around and be boarded, can ye? Mad!"

Jack shook his head and said sadly, "Unfortunately, mate, we got no choice. We can't outrun the Pearl…there's no way."

"Then we stand and fight."

Turning, Jack saw Norrington emerge from the mess hall, looking on the upswing from when he last confronted Dolan.

"Oh, so now ye want to fight, eh? Hoping to condemn more honorable men to the gallows?" shot Dolan, eyeing Norrington disgustedly.

"There are no honorable men aboard that ship," Will said.

"They're catching up, no doubt. Our best bet is to lower the mast, secure the rigging, and to - "

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" exclaimed Dolan, whirling to face Norrington. "Who, might I ask, is the captain of this here ship? I am. That means I give the orders. I decide what's best, are we at an understanding? I don't care what you think and I don't care what you do unless it affects me or my crew. So kindly shut that flapper of yourn and we'll be on our way."

Norrington's face remained expressionless, but Jack noticed the commodore's right hand was moving subtly towards his sword.

"Dolan, Norrington's right," Jack insisted carefully. He knew he was treading on eggshells with a statement like that. "We can't outrun 'em…oh, brilliant, look, bleedin' Christ, they're here," he added in dismay as he looked over his right shoulder. A rigging's full of grinning faces and hungry stares met them. It had happened so quietly that Will, Norrington, and Dolan all screamed out in surprise.

"MEN! Get yerselves down here, on the double!" Dolan shouted as his crew came raining down upon the main deck. Jack saw them draw their swords and he quietly cursed. Barbossa was going to win this fight, hands-down.

"Oi! Ye ain't fightin' without me, ye lousy flea-bitten sailors," Ingrid yelled from the captain's quarters. She stormed out with a sword in her hand, a dagger in her belt, and a knife in her shoe. The mere sight of her made Jack smile.

"Aye, mum, we're nothin' without ye," smiled Dolan.

"Alright you bloody bastards, make a move," Jack heard Will mutter under his breath.

"Will." The boy turned to look at him. "Just…just don't go pirating on me, savvy? It's  technically illegal, and yer a father, aye? So mind the language. Kids pick up everything, you know," he added turning from Will.

"You sound like Elizabeth."

Jack's eyes grew wide. "DON'T compare me to her," he grumbled, tugging his own shirt over his head and drawing his sword. "I DRINK my rum, not BURN it…"

Shouts and screams accompanied by invading pirates from the Pearl followed Jack's comment. One scrawny pirate made a Beeline for him, and Jack ducked, parried, thrusted. Withdrawing his sword from the pirate's innards, Jack cussed aloud as he realized they were all in huge trouble…

"They won't die!" he heard Dolan shout over the fray of the onslaught of the invasion. "They won't – bleedin' – die!"

"I TOLD YOU!" Jack roared, upset with himself for his lack of his own memory. "I TOLD YOU THAT THEY COULDN'T DIE! YOU CAN'T DIE WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD, SAVVY?" he thrust again at the insanely scrawny pirate. The apparently dimwitted opponent giggled ridiculously as he rubbed his eye with a closed fist, grasping his sword with the other hand. It made a sickening squeaking sound.

"I can't die," the man giggled, insanely grinning. "I'm undead, see." He pointed to his abdomen.

Jack rolled his eyes, dropped his sword, and punched the man squarely on the jaw. To his utter surprise, the man's eye popped out of its socket. "Me eye! Me eye!" he screamed as he dropped on all fours, following the slippery eye across the deck. "It's me eye!"

Frowning slightly and pausing in memoriam for the bloke's fake eye, Jack dodged a first-class punch to the cheekbone. He whirled around and punched the offender in the stomach, picked up his sword, and whirled around to see Will fending off a burly pirate of his own.

"I can take care of myself!" Will protested as Jack took over his fight for him.

"Yes, yes, we all know that, you're absolutely manly and a real joy to work with," Jack muttered as he blocked an advancement. "BUT, you have delicate cargo to retrieve on the Pearl…if you get my drift," he added, ducking an attempt by the other to take off his head at the neck. He glanced at Will who nodded in comprehension and dashed off to the other ship.

As he parried again, a drawling voice called out, "Leave 'em, Drawburn…he's mine." The pirate he had been fighting backed down and moved aside to reveal Barbossa, sword drawn, grinning.

"Aye, you missed me," he smirked at Jack.

"Got a new hat, I see," he commented, pointing to the pirate's plumed hat. Barbossa's smile faded. "Much nicer than the other one, I must admit. The other was a tad…out of style." A heavy pause filled the air until he asked, "What are you doing with my ship?"

"YOUR ship, Jack? Oh no, matey, the ship is mine. Always was, always will be…savvy?" he mocked, raising his sword. "I s'pose ye would like to battle me, then?"

Jack grasped his sword tighter. "Aye, I s'pose I would."

"We're behind ye, Jack," Dolan muttered. He could see the rest of the crew had stopped fighting and were solely concentrating on the fight between he and Barbossa. The crew of the Victoria Anne were gathered behind Jack; likewise, the crew of the Pearl was crowded behind Barbossa.

"No, Dolan, this isn't your battle," Jack grumbled. Then, without preamble, he thrust. Barbossa parried, bringing his sword around full circle, trying to slice Jack's arm off. Anticipating this, Jack withdrew his sword and swiped across the area where Barbossa's head had been moments before. Barbossa blocked, parried, and then thrust.

An odd sensation overcame Jack's middle…it was a sensation he had before. He looked down and saw Barbossa's sword sticking out of his left side. He narrowed his eyes and remained motionless. How odd…

"YOU BLOODY BASTARD!" he heard Dolan cry. Jack saw the rum runner move to strike against Barbossa, but Jack was too fast for him.

"Don't!" he growled, pushing Dolan back by the shoulders.

"Ja…Jack…you're…you're…"

He saw the man eyeing the sword sticking out of his midriff, his mouth agape with disgust. "OH bloody hell, does NO ONE ever listen to me?" he raged. He held up a finger to signal for Dolan to wait, grasped the sword with both hands, and wrenched the item out of his stomach. "I. CAN'T. DIE. SAVVY?" he asked, displaying Barbossa's weapon high in the air. "This didn't hurt." Jack turned to face Barbossa. "Too bad, mate…now you have no weapon," he grinned.

"What will no weapon cost me when I can't die?" Barbossa smirked back. "But I do have…what did you call it? Leverage?" He pointed to the Pearl's deck where he saw Will being restrained by two members of the other crew. "So unless ye want young Mr. Turner here to suffer, I suggest ye come with me."

Jack eyed Will who was desperately struggling within the grasps of the two men. Jack's heart thudded heavily in his chest…he didn't know if Will could resist the call of the Curse and avoid the temptation to give in to Barbossa and the gods.

Jack clenched his teeth. "Fine," he murmured. He threw down his sword. Sure enough, Ingrid had a say about this.

"Ye can't give up! What do ye think yer doin'? This ain't like you, Sparrow…let's fight! We can take 'em!" she cried, marching forward only to be held back by Dolan. Barbossa and crew laughed.

"Take 'em all, laddies," he growled, signaling to Dolan's posse. "Just take 'em all."

Spitting, yelling, and vulgarities were heard on the Victoria Anne as the crew was dragged from the ship to the Pearl. He barely caught glimpses of the others being dragged down to the brig as he was tied to the main mast's base with rough rope.

Barbossa stared at him hungrily, and Jack narrowed his eyes in contempt. "So, Jack, how does it feel to be back on the Pearl?"

"It's my ship," he growled.

"Oh, yes, I forgot. Perhaps it was the fact that you are bound and a captive on your own ship that blinded me to the fact that you owned 'er. We got 'er back, courtesy of the Aztec gods. They felt us acquiring the fastest ship in these here waters was a sure way to fulfill their plans."

"Let him go."

"Pardon?" Barbossa's sneer faded slightly.

"Just let him go. And Elizabeth. Keep me…its me you want."

Barbossa laughed. "No, mate, you got it wrong. It's Turner I want…you just happen to be a bonus." The crew chuckled collectively.

Lowering his eyes to the floor, Jack racked his mind for a way out of this mess.

Ain't no way out, Sparrow. The mess is here to stay.

Cringing, Jack had forgotten about the Curse. Now that he was in Barbossa's hands, the Curse would easily take him over.

Aye, you're catching on, you are. Always were intelligent.

Wincing as if he had been slapped, Jack tried desperately to drown out the raspy voice within his head.

I thought I told ye…I'm here for good. Better get used to me, Sparrow.

"The Curse talking to ye yet?" Barbossa asked. "Is it gettin' to ye?"

"No." It was a lie. Already he felt his mind succumb to doubts, to anger…

"You miss her, do ye?"

Barbossa's question shut out the voice entirely. "What?"

"That lass on that ship of yourn. What did Gibbs call her…? Anamaria?" he sneered. "She's dead, ain't she?"

Jack bit his tongue to keep himself from reaching out and killing the man in front of him. He didn't answer.

"Died in yer arms, Gibbs told me."

Gibbs? he thought. And it dawned on him. Gibbs was the informant. Gibbs was undead too…he couldn't resist the Curse's calling. He used his flask to drink Sangria, the concoction of the Aztecs Jack had given Elizabeth…Sangria, for a man, hid the curse. It was suddenly so stupendously obvious that Jack almost laughed.

"So…was she as stupidly loyal as you, Jack? Or just stupid in general."

Now Jack was biting his tongue so hard he tasted blood as the warm, tangy liquid filled his mouth. Barbossa smiled stupidly. "Don't matter, really. She's dead and gone…just like the rest of that crew of yourn." The captain turned from Jack and rallied his men together. "Off to Isle de la Viento, and make haste. Time to break the curse, gain our immortality, and wreak havoc for those vengeful gods."

"Isle de la Viento?" Jack blurted out, narrowing his eyes.

"Aye, mate, you were there. Remember the fork in the path?" he asked, his eyes glinting maliciously. "You chose the left path…If a fellow pirate take ye gold, cut off his right hand, leavin' him only his left to fight with…ring a bell?" Barbossa took a moment to smirk at Jack, then continued, "Well, you took the left path…unfortunately, you forgot you were dealin' with me. You see Jack, I'd cut off both of his hands. But since that don't ring well with the code, I had to adjust. I knew you would pick the right path…so I chose the left. That's where the gold is." He grinned malevolently. "Feel dippy, eh, Jack?"

"Gibbs was your informant," he muttered, lowering his eyes to the ground, trying to take it all in.

"Aye, but a rather lousy one, I should mention. He was under the impression that you died…seems he had a change of loyalty, but stupidly decided that he was, overall, in your debt," he added in a slightly bitter voice. "All of to no consequence, of course. We have all we need." He gestured to the left.

Jack turned to see Will walking towards them. Alarmingly, he was not being restrained. He wore a curious smirk upon his face, and Jack's stomach plummeted as he saw an evil glistening in his eyes. He was armed with his own sword hanging by his side. He came to a halt to stand next to Barbossa. Jack couldn't take his eyes off of Will's face; his handsome features were contorted in a sneer-like fashion, his eyes flashing with what appeared to be anger with a slight twinge of madness. His breathing was normal but his stature was rigid, unnatural. What was left of Jack's hope crumbled and landed at a heap at his feet.

"Jack Sparrow, meet my first mate, William Turner."

~*~

See you next update.