A/N: Oooh, wow, I'm getting reviews!! *bounces* Eep: O_O I've read SO much better than this, but thank you very much for your kind words, I appreciate it ^^ Ping*Pong5: Thanks...and you'll see, in this one...*cackles*

OK...originally, this was going to be placed with Chapter Two, which is why it's shorter than my first two chappies. But after Chapter Two ended up being so long, I had to make this its own thing. *g* So here we are…and yes, the Elizabeth thing will be explained later, in further detail. Enjoy!

~*~ Pirates of the Caribbean: Revenge of the Damned ~*~

~ Chapter Three: Meeting ~

The rays of the afternoon sun on his face, normally gentle but now seeming hot and harsh, woke Will Turner that morning. Groaning, he shifted himself, then sat up, his head aching. He didn't want to recall the events that had made the other half of the bed, beside him, empty.

Elizabeth's kidnapping and the attack on Port Royale were as fresh in his mind as if they had happened yesterday – which, in fact, they had. The town, by now used to pirate attacks, had recovered admirably; even a day after the attack, there was barely any sign of it. It had been violent but brief; the second Elizabeth had been placed aboard their ship, the name of which Will hadn't caught, the attack had been called off. Will had done his best to try and fend them off, but a year and a half had gone by since his last pirating venture and he was out of practice, so he'd been knocked out pretty quickly.

Sighing, Will got out of bed. While he dressed, three thoughts stood out clearly in his head. One was that though his head had cooled since the last time Elizabeth had been kidnapped, he didn't love her any less, and was still willing to die for her. Another was that because he loved her, he was going to get her back. No matter what it took. And the final thought was that the best person to ask for help with this venture was no less than Captain Jack Sparrow.

Of course, it remained that he had next to no idea where said pirate was, nor where those who had taken Elizabeth were, but minor setbacks like that weren't going to stop Will.

With a jolt, Will suddenly realized that it was past noon. He'd already missed most of his work day; if he showed up now, he'd be in for it. He was about to tear out of the door and run to work when he realized he wasn't up for work at all. He missed Elizabeth, and wanted some time to think about his course of action for getting her back. He could afford to miss one day of work.

Will grabbed the hat he'd worn the day he last saw Jack; he'd always remembered his friend's compliment of it, and it had become his favorite one. He jammed it onto his head and, slamming the door of his house shut behind him, he stormed out of the door. He'd barely taken a few steps in the direction of the Port Royale docks when he barreled straight into an extremely agitated-looking girl.

"I'm sorry, miss, I didn't see you – "

Will's awkward apology was cut off by a ragged gasp from the girl, followed by several incoherent fragments stammered out in a rough accent. "Oh, God…mate, y've got to 'elp me…they're after me…'elp me, please…"

"Calm down!" Will grabbed the girl's shoulders to steady her. Looking into her dark grey eyes, he was struck by how familiar she looked. Had he met her before? "If I can, I'll try to help you…what's the matter?"

The girl's breathing had slowed, but the panic in her eyes was still there. She gulped in some air, then stammered, "There's not much time…quick, just 'ide me…they're after me…"

Sighing in mild frustration, Will looked around briefly. Noticing an abandoned alley some few meters away, he grabbed the girl's forearm and pulled her into it, hiding them both behind a large wall. The girl let out a huge sigh of relief and sank against the wall, allowing it to hold her up, panting.

"What happened?" Will asked again, giving the girl an odd look.

She looked at him. "Misunderstanding," was all she said, a rougish grin spreading over her face.

Will frowned. There was something familiar about that grin. "Who's after you?" he asked, hoping he didn't look confused.

The girl paused, then, looking extremely sheepish, confessed, "Th' British Royal Navy."

"What?!" Will demanded, completely floored. This girl did definitely not look like the type that would give the Navy any trouble, much less sending them after her. She probably wasn't even 20, for goodness' sakes...then Will tried looking at her; really looking at her. Her chin was strong and set; stubborn, Will thought. Her stance, even against the wall, was confident, almost cocky. There appeared to be an assortment of weapons in her belt. And in her deep grey eyes there was a spark of defiance, mischief, and wild emotion. It caused Will to completely alter his image of the girl. Despite her young age, she was obviously not someone to be reckoned with.

In spite of the realization, Will was again floored when the girl calmly announced, "Aye, they're tryin' to place me under arrest f'r carryin' weapons, destroyin' a Port Royale boat, and shootin' at Commodore Norrington."

"WHAT?!" Will stared at the girl, his eyes huge. She grinned again. Will shook his head – this girl didn't look stupid, but shooting at Commodore Norrington obviously wasn't exactly the best idea. "Maybe I shouldn't be helping you."

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" she quickly interjected, her own eyes growing wide and innocent. "I'm not dang'rous, really, I'm not! Just…o'erenthusiastic."

Will raised an eyebrow. "If that's what you call it…"

She grinned yet again, wider than before, and Will was once again racking his brain to figure out who that grin reminded him of so vividly. "Think they're gone…thanks f'r 'elpin' me out, mate. 'Ppreciate it. What's your name?"

Will studied the girl, trying to figure out how wise it would be to give this strange girl his name. But despite her wild look and obvious impulsiveness, he found himself, oddly, trusting her. Throwing caution to the winds, he replied, "Will Turner."

The girl's jaw dropped. "Mother o' God! I KNEW y'looked familiar!" she gasped, looking at Will as though seeing him for the first time.

Will blinked. "Have we met?"

"Don't ye recognize me?" the girl asked, the huge grin back on her face. When Will shook his head, she rolled up her right sleeve, displaying a tattoo on her upper arm. When Will saw it, he instantly knew.

"Rose?" he demanded in disbelief.

The girl's grin grew. "I knew ye'd r'member me!" She threw her arms around a shocked Will, hugging him tightly and briefly, then letting go to beam at him.

Will stared at her, memories of the girl he and Elizabeth had cared for returning. "It really IS you," he said slowly, running a hand through his hair. "How'd you get back to Port Royale? Why'd you come back? And…why'd you leave that morning, after Elizabeth and I took you in?"

"One at a time," Rose laughed, looking extremely pleased. "I 'borrowed' a boat from a friend o' mine - " Will raised an eyebrow; he highly doubted that this "friend" even knew Rose, much less where his boat now was. "Well, with all th' luck I 'ave, it leaked, so I 'ad to stop 'ere f'r a new one, an' some supplies. An'…" Her face grew soft. "I left 'cause I didn't want t' burden you an' 'Lizabeth. Didn't want t' wear out me welcome, so t' speak. Sorry if I worried ye…turned out all righ', didn't I?"

Will chose not to reply to this statement.

"'ve been all o'er th' place lately, I 'ave," Rose announced proudly, beaming. "Learnin' t' be a pirate, just like me dad. Lookin' for 'im, too."

Her statement reminded Will of something. "Your father," he asked tentatively. "You never told me his name before. Rose…who's your father?"

"Me father?" A half-dreamy, half-pained expression crossed Rose's face. "My father's a pirate. One o' th' greatest t' ever sail th' seven seas. 'Ccomplished, always laughin' in th' face o' danger, always calm under pressure. Or so I've 'eard from me mum…ne'er actually met 'im meself." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Me father was…is…" She sighed, looking into the sky with a wistful expression. "Me father's…Cap'n Jack Sparrow."

Will's jaw dropped. For a few seconds he stood there, in an extremely unattractive position, just staring at Rose. THAT was who she had reminded him of. The hair, the expression, the facial shape, the speech, the grin…all of them now practically screamed Jack Sparrow. The only question now was, why the hell hadn't Will realized it sooner?!

Suddenly, Will heard footsteps and saw a glint of silver. "Rose!" he yelled, but before he could say anything, the sword had taken its place at the girl's neck.

Rose's eyes grew huge. They slowly went from Will to the blade at her neck – she gulped loudly – to the man standing next to her, holding the sword.

Commodore Norrington smirked, very slightly, as it was unattractive for a man in his position to gloat too much. "Well, well, well. Looks like this Sparrow won't be taking flight anytime soon."

Rose attempted a weak laugh. "Good one, Comm'dore. Sparrow…takin' flight…ow!" Two of the Navy soldiers were snapping chains around her wrists. "Easy there, gentl'men. You're dealin' with a lady 'ere, don' f'get."

Norrington let out something that sounded distinctly like a snort. "Take her away, men." The soldiers made a move to do so, and Rose shot a pleading, desperate look at Will. The look made him want to protect her…the daughter of a man he considered one of his closest friends.

"Commodore," Will spoke, unable to let it go. Norrington turned, dislike on his features. "With all due respect, sir, I think you're making a mistake."

"Yes, well, to you, it was a mistake arresting Jack Sparrow," Norrington retorted, deaf to Rose's hiss of "Captain! Captain Jack Sparrow!" "And it would be just as much of one to let his daughter off." He took another step forward, his voice harder and lower. "You have always associated with pirates and scum of the lowest sort. If you want to get anywhere in society, I advise you to stop." He held Will's furious gaze for another moment, then turned away and raised his voice. "To jail with her, gentlemen."

With those final, condemning words by the Commodore, Rose was dragged away, her desperate dark grey eyes boring into his. All Will could do was watch as the daughter of the one man who may have been able to help him find his beloved wife was dragged away.

A/N: OK, TELL me you didn't see Rose's parentage coming. XD I am SO predictable. *giggles* Anyway…now that you've done one of the r's, time for the other! *g* A review takes less than a minute to write and it makes me feel great for days! Plus, they inspire me, so I'll write more the more reviews I get… That lovely ickle Review bar is sitting there, lonely and abandoned…won't you give it a click? *puppydog eyes* /shameless self promotion