A/N: I think some people might have been confused about the first chapter, so in case you were, it was Will's nightmare. Sorry I didn't clarify that earlier.

Will awoke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright in his bunk. A shudder ran through his body as he inhaled in quick, short gasps, his mind plagued with images of Elizabeth drawing her last breath in his arms. His sweaty hands groped and pulled at the tangled sheets, his muddled brain fighting to ward off the taunting shadows of his nightmare.

His frantic eyes scanned the room, searching for some link to reality. The room was dark and the wooden walls seemed to close in around him, pressing his demons back onto him against his efforts to push them away.

Oh, god. Not here. Please...

No. No. You're on the Interceptor.

Why? Why am I here?

Jack Sparrow.

Jack...

And Elizabeth. She's alive, kid, and she needs you.

Elizabeth...

It was then he noticed that his face felt wet and slightly sticky. He lifted his shaking hands and wiped at his cheeks and temples, using his worn sleeves to clear away the moisture. His tears had been real.

Elizabeth. He thought back to the last time he had seen her. In the middle of a crowded Port Royal street, chaos surrounding them but only each other existing in their eyes. Her golden hair was coming undone from the elaborate bun that half of it was drawn into, her night clothes and dressing gown in a flurry in her rush to keep up with the men pulling her along. His brush with death at the hands of one filthy pirate had caused his adrenaline to race, and watching her look back at him with wide, pleading eyes as two more of the disgusting beasts dragged her down the lane had only made it move faster. He saw her lips form his name, and he could almost hear her voice speak it as his entire world focused on her for that moment. He whispered her name in response and lunged forward as he made to go to her, but he was stopped when another pirate – one he was sure he had already killed – stepped into his path. He never did get his chance to try and save her then, for he was knocked out shortly after and didn't wake until the next morning, lying in the middle of the street with chickens pecking around his head.

She had asked him only hours before that fateful event if he remembered the day they had met. Of course he remembered. It would be terribly difficult to forget such a day as that, being attacked by pirates and saved by an angel. He remembered wakening violently at the feeling of a hand stroking his hair, immediately seizing the owner's wrist with a loud gasp. It was stupid, really. Her touch was gentle and kind; nothing to be afraid of. He was finally able to focus on her face as she introduced herself as Elizabeth Swann. He shakily stated his own name and promptly passed out again after she informed him that she would be watching over him.

His love for her had grown and changed over the eight years that had passed since then. That day, she had been a guardian to him, a sure promise of protection, and he had loved her for that. As time went on, he came to know her more and more; came to love her not as a protector but for who she was as a person. He learned over the years that she was a smart and beautiful girl with a fiery and rebellious spirit, always trying to break away from the restraining bonds of a civilization that demanded so much of her. He loved her smile, her rich brown eyes, her beautiful mind, her strength and ability to handle anything that was thrown at her. He loved everything about her.

All this time he had admired her, seemingly from afar. She seemed untouchable, though she was actually only just beyond his reach. He wanted so badly to confess his feelings to her, to tell her that he loved her truly and deeply with every part of himself. And he would've told her on several occasions, were he not always shot down by a society with strict and binding laws about love and marriage. He could never have Elizabeth. It was not proper for a governor's daughter to be with a common blacksmith. So he was forced to endure having her dangled in front of him on a string, having her be cruelly pulled away every time he thought he might be getting close, driving him crazy. It killed him to know that he would never be with her.

So why was it, then, that just the thought of her eased all of his troubles? How could she drive him insane and calm his every nerve at the same time? Why was it that she made everything better even despite his bittersweet longing?

It was because he loved her. Will loved Elizabeth; it was as simple as that. Yes, he could never have her, but that did not change the fact that he loved her more than anything or anyone else. He would die for her, kill for her, kill himself for her. He would go to hell and back for her, and he knew that if he traveled round the whole world searching for someone else he could love the way he loved Elizabeth, he would never find another.

Which was why the thought of losing her was unbearable. She was his life support system. If she was gone, he would have nothing to live for; his life would end. He didn't know where she was right now. She was on the Black Pearl, but that was all he knew. She could be in a dark, damp cell, cold and alone. He didn't know how they were treating her, what they were doing to her. They could be beating her senseless, cruelly starving her, taunting and jeering at her with their twisted, ugly faces. Or they could be doing to her what had been done in his nightmare.

Will, please! Help me!

He feared so much for her safety, for her life. The pain of losing her would be ten times worse knowing that he might've saved her but didn't succeed. Equally bad was the thought that they were only using her for the purposes in his dream. A pretty girl, under their complete control. Easy to take advantage of the opportunity for pleasurable company. Then again, of course, they could've killed her already.

Will, please... I'm dying...

He had to get out of here. The room was dark and stifling and hot with his emotions. He didn't know where he would go, and he didn't have many choices being on a ship, but he could not stay in this room, where sounds and images from his nightmare snapped at his heels and would not leave him alone.

He scrambled out of bed as quickly as he could, swaying a bit on his feet as he adjusted to the rocking of the ship. He crossed the room and ambled out the door, emerging into the hallway with squinted eyes, still trying to adjust to the lack of light.

Elizabeth's screams haunted him as he walked along the hallway below deck, one hand touching the wall every so often since there were no lamps to guide him. He could see her face, her eyes holding so much pain and fear. He saw the monster's hand gripping her wrist until it burned; he saw the bruises on her neck. He saw her give up.

The ship suddenly pitched one way unexpectedly, propelling him into a door on his right. The weight of his body and the force of the impact was enough for the door to fly open, sending him tumbling. Elizabeth's body flashed before his eyes, dead and decaying, as he landed sprawled on the floor, painfully smacking his head against the hard wood.

Will... I'm dead...

Will pulled himself back up onto his knees, but could go no further than that, panting with pain and the disturbing images that filled his mind. Would they never leave him alone?

She's alive. She's alive...

... How do you know?

He slumped forward in defeat and despair. He did not know.

She could be dead. She could be dead and there is nothing you could do about it. She could be DEAD...

He could not help himself. He could not hold his emotions any longer. Tears rushed to his eyes, stinging and burning at the edges. And he let them fall.

A/N: Please please please review!