YAY FOR A NEW CHAPTER!! YAY! FINALLY! Okay, well, first, I have to thank short one, Mia Chelle, and, of course, my long lost year apart inspiring great writer twin DAFTLIKESPARROW. I love you all!!! ENJOY THE NEW CHAPPY!

Catherine woke up and looked at the ceiling tiredly. She suddenly remembered the night before and glanced down at Jack, who had his arms wrapped around her. He was almost cute. But she didn't get attached to people like that -- there's nothing wrong with a little good time, but she just didn't care about anything but money and herself. Hey, Jack is the same way: cares only for himself, money, and his ship.

'And I said I wasn't going to sleep with him... Damn...' she thought.

"Hey." Catherine said, patting Jack's cheek. "Hey, Sweetbuns, wake up." Jack tiredly opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Oh, 'ey, love." he mumbled sleepily. "'as it stopped stormin' yet?"

"It's still raining a little," she replied, looking out the window, "but we can leave, anyway."

"I don' know, I kind o' enjoyed the stay." he said with a smirk.

"I know -- I'm so good." she replied casually. "And I have to say, I had quite a bit of fun buckling your swash." He laughed. "Anyway, suppose we should leave, huh?"

"Suppose so." he said.

"Oh, by the way, tell anyone about this and I'll rip your throat out." she told him matter-of-factly. "And don't tell anyone and then pretend you didn't -- a woman knows."

"I'll remember that... You know, maybe we shouldn' leave jus' yet..." he said, putting his lips to her neck.

She sighed. "Just like a man. What? You think you can buy one get one free? I don't think so." Suddenly, her eyes widened as she looked at the bedside table. "WHERE IS IT?!"

"What?!" Jack asked in alarm.

"The clue! It's gone!" she cried.

"No! I-I saw you put it on the table!" he exclaimed. "It must be around here somewhere!"

"Well, if you'd let go of me for long enough, I'll look!" she said. He let her go and she wrapped a sheet around her and got up. "Damn... I don't see it..." She got on the floor and looked under the bed and all around the table. "Where the hell is it?!"

"You don' think someone..."

"Snuck in and stole it?!" she cried. "Oh, no! Damn! Do you remember the clue?"

"Well, I remember what 'appened after the clue, but--"

"Damn!" she exclaimed. "Oh... something about... Cleopatra -- wait, no, that was after! This is all your fault!"

"My fault?!" he asked as Catherine began to get dressed.

"Yes! If you hadn't been so damn charming, we--"

"Me?!" he asked incredulously. "It was you who was so bloody attractive!"

"And I can help that?!"

"Yes, you don' 'ave to encourage it."

"What?!" she cried. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, I can tell you that if you 'adn' seduced me, we wouldn' be in this situation!"

"Me seduce you?!" she yelled. "I don't think so! It was all you, Mr. Strong Masculine Sun-tanned Tall And Handsome Pirate!"

"'ey, you've been hintin' at it since the day we met!"

"Well, excuse me if I just happen to be a very beautiful and attractive girl!" she cried. "And what the hell are you doing? We need to hurry up! Put some pants on! Yeesh!"

After all was set, they hurried out of the room, paid the bill, and hurried back to the ship. They set sail towards Ruby Falls, hoping to run into Boyens and his crew, and a few hours later, they did. They came upon a ship with the name Boyens carved into the back.

"How stupid -- can you say 'giveaway?'" Catherine said bitterly as they came up alongside the ship.

A moment later, the other ship dropped anchor -- the Pearl did the same. The captain of the other ship grabbed onto a rope and swung across to the Pearl.

"Showoff..." Catherine mumbled. Jack and Catherine went to speak with him.

"Did you get my message?" Catherine asked, faking sweet.

"I did, and how heartfelt it was." the captain replied sarcastically. " George Boyens; and you must be Catherine. You are quite lovely."

"I know." she replied. "Now, why don't you give us back our clue before you get your head blown off."

"Or worse--" Jack added, "we could attack your ship." Catherine looked at him inquisitively, but returned her glare to Boyens.

"I don't think I can give you the clue back." Boyens told her. "You see, we need it."

"You need it? Hell, we need it!" Catherine exclaimed. "Give it back or you'll be sorry."

Boyens laughed. "We don't even have it anymore. We burned it after my first mate memorized it."

Catherine gasped. "Damn you!!"

"Yes, I get that a lot." he told her. "Sorry." He quickly grabbed onto a rope and swung back to his ship before anyone could catch him.

"Damn it!!" Catherine yelled. "Attack their ship!! Load the cannons and attack!!"

"Aye, attack!" Jack confirmed. The crew ran below deck and, after they pulled up the anchor, began to prepare an attack. There was no way that Boyens's ship could beat the Black Pearl -- they had an advantage. After a few moments, they began to fire on Boyens's ship, but it didn't seem to do much good and they ran out of ammunition soon after the attack began. They hadn't needed it for so long, they'd just forgotten to restock.

It was a day and a half journey to Ruby Falls and they had to beat Boyens. They set sail at top speed away from Oasis.

That night, Catherine went to Jack's quarters to speak with him about the journey.

"You know, love," he said to her, "I don't know if this is even worth it..."

"Christopher Elliot!" she exclaimed. "Richest man in the Caribbean! Money! Uhh!" she whined. "You can't turn that down!"

"I don' know, darling... it's so much trouble... an' I already 'ave a lot of money..." Jack told her.

"So, what?" she cried. "You can never have too much money!"

"I don' know... I'm goin' to 'ave to think about continuin' this..." Jack said.

"And what am I supposed to do?" she asked. "Go after it myself? I don't think so!"

"You can always join me crew, sweetheart." he told her. "You jus' 'ave to do a little more work."

She scoffed. "Join your crew as what? Your woman-slave? No!"

"No, you can jus'... 'elp, I don' know! I'll figure somethin' out!"

"Please, Jack!" she pleaded (lying). "Please help me find my inheritance! I deserve it -- I need it! I can't spend my whole life being a stable girl!"

'Got to think of something fast -- got to think of something fast.' Catherine thought.

"I don't want to be just any girl... I-I want to be your girl." she lied, putting her arms around his neck. "I want to be the only one in your life -- and you the only one in mine."

'I hope this keeps him hooked...' she thought.

"Please, Jack." she said.

He sighed. "Sure, darling." he told her. Not only did he like her company very much, but he also felt pretty sorry for her.

"So, you'll help me?" she asked.

"Yeah." he replied.

"Thank you, Jack." she said and kissed him. "So... to Ruby Falls, then!" She grinned excitedly, let go of him, and went to the door. "Come on!"
"We 'ave time to spare, love..." he said, suggesting...

"This is too nerve racking -- I can't stay down here and snog you until we get to Ruby Falls!" she told him. "Come on!"

"Later, then?" he asked.

"Sure, come on!" she hurried out of his room and up on deck, he followed.

"So," she began, up on deck, "if we can recall the clue... we should be able to beat them to the next one... Can you remember it at all?"

"Well, I remember..."

"What happened after, I know, I know." she dismissed.

"Well, maybe if we start where we ended and work backward." he said.

"I'm not into that kind of stuff." she replied. He looked at her oddly, but continued his thought.

"I mean, if we sort of... remember what happened starting with the end..."

"I think I know what you mean..." she replied. "Okay, well... Something... about wrath... and that was capitalized... and a pirate's grave... and a... coffin? That doesn't make much sense..."

"Well, that's all I can remember as well... perhaps when we get to Ruby Falls, we'll figure it out."

They arrived in Ruby Falls a few hours later and asked around if anyone knew anything about something called 'Wrath.' Eventually, they found someone to ask: a girl who was outside, planting plants and roses with many thorns out in a garden.

"Excuse me, but can you tell us if there's a place called 'Wrath' around here anywhere?" Catherine asked the brown-haired, blue-green-eyed girl who was dressed in a ragged old dress.

"Wrath?" she asked. "Well, I don't think there's a place here called that, but it does sound familiar..." the girl said politely. "Oh, yes! Wrath is--"

Suddenly, a woman from inside the girl's house called out to her strictly. "Celeste! What on earth are you doing?! You don't have time to waste! You still have to milk the cows and feed the chickens! And then you have to do the laundry!"

"I know, Marie!!" the girl yelled back at her. "I'm giving people directions!!" the girl looked back at Catherine and Jack. "Erm, anyway, Wrath is the name of a pirate who used to terrorize this town. Eventually, the military caught him and killed him. They buried him out in a cave in the woods. I'd take you there, but I... am not allowed to leave the house... But, if you go straight down this road, you'll come to a fork. Go right and follow that to the cave." the girl eyed Catherine. "That's a really pretty dress. I wish I could have a dress like that."

"Er, well, er, we could give you a few shillings for your help--" Jack began, but the girl interrupted.

"Oh, no, I don't need money." the girl replied. "I live here. That woman is my stepmother. She won't let me wear pretty things like that -- she says they don't belong on me. ...Pardon me if I ramble, but I don't get to talk to people often -- OW!" she cried, having cut her hand on a rose thorn. "Oh, I hate it when that happens." she grabbed a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the blood off her hand; her hands were all cut up and looked like she'd been working hard everyday, doing more than she was used to. "Er, anyway, er, good luck in finding the cave. Have a nice day." she smiled politely and went back to her planting.

"Thank you, Miss." Jack said to her. She nodded her head as a tear rolled down her cheek. "You, er, wouldn't want to come with us, would you? You don' seem like you 'ave a very good life 'ere..."

"Oh, no, I can't leave. I can't do anything." the girl said, staring at the dirt on the ground. "I'd starve to death. I wish I could leave, but I cannot. Thank you for the offer, though."

Jack nodded and he and Catherine turned and headed up the road.

"How sad." Catherine said. "Poor girl... Well, she's not our problem."

"Yeah." Jack agreed and they continued walking down the road.

Eventually, they came to a fork in the road and went to the right. They followed it until they came to the cave. They entered and went to the very end of the torch-lit cave, and found a grave.

"'Peter Wrath.'" Catherine read off the gravestone. "'Notorious pirate and murderous killer.' How cheerful -- hope it says that on my grave. Yeesh!"

"So, we were supposed to... what?" Jack asked, kneeling next to the grave.

"It said something about a coffin..." Catherine replied. "So... I guess it's in the coffin... Well, go ahead, get to digging."

"Me?!" Jack asked incredulously. "Why me? Why don't we both dig?"

"Because I have pretty nails." she replied. "Please?" she begged, leaning over a bit, calling attention to her cleavage.

"Er..." Jack stuttered. "Well, I, er, I suppose I could... jus' because you're a woman..."

"So, what? That makes me incapable?!" she asked, and kicked him in the leg.

"OW!" he cried. "No! I'm jus' doin' a favor for a beautiful woman!"

"Oh, sorry." she offered. "Touchy subject."

"Apparently." he muttered, and began digging. Finally, he came to a coffin that wasn't a foot below the dirt. He opened it and it was empty... except for a piece of parchment. He pulled it out and Catherine snatched it out of his hand. She unrolled it and read it aloud.

" 'Another clue, was it difficult to find? Now you'll have to solve a clue of another kind. Old Montgomery Foxx, he knows how to fix the locks. He's going to tell you what you need to know, back to Tortuga is where you must go.'" Catherine paused. "Montgomery Foxx? Who the hell is that?" she asked.

"Guess 'e lives in Tortuga." Jack said.

"How very genius of you to notice." she replied sarcastically and stuck the clue in her purse. "Okay, well, let's go."

Jack nodded and they began to exit the cave. Just as they left, they were ambushed by 8 of Boyens's crew members! Jack pulled out his sword to fight, and Catherine backed up, pulling out two pistols. Jack fenced with several men, and Catherine shot two of them. She pulled out two more guns and shot two more men. Jack fenced with four of the men with extreme difficulty as Catherine pulled out two guns and shot two of the men. She pulled out her last gun and shot one more of the men. Jack fenced with the remaining man as Boyens walked up. He walked calmly over to Catherine.

'Damn... I don't have any more guns... and no time to reload...' she thought, putting her gun away as she had done the others.

"Catherine, how are you doing?" Boyens asked.

"I'm doing dandy, just dandy, and you?" she asked.

"Well, I'd be doing a lot better if I could get the next clue." he told her.

"Is that so?" she asked.

"Yes, and I would guess that you have it."

"Wow, now, that is amazing brainpower." she said sarcastically. He started to walk towards her and began to unsheathe his sword. "Now, you wouldn't fight someone who is unarmed, would you? Only a coward would do that."

He looked at her and snorted. "I suppose so. Here." he pulled out a sword and held it out to Catherine.

"Swords are so... safe. It's much more brave to fistfight." He raised his eyebrows, but nodded. He removed his swords and tossed them aside. Just then, Jack finished his fight and began to attack Boyens. "Jack, stop!" she ordered. "This is personal. Besides, I can handle myself. You know I'm a pretty strong girl."

He kept himself from saying a terrible remark, even though it seemed that was exactly what she was referring to.

She took a stance and put up her fists; so did Boyens.

"I'll let you have the first punch." Boyens said. "Since you're a woman."

She narrowed her eyes and moved closer to him, fists still up. "Yeah, we're better." she said and punched him hard in the face. He recoiled, but put up his fists again, now angered. He threw a punch at her, but she ducked and dodged it. Just then, she elbowed him in the stomach and punched him in the face. She kicked him in the stomach and he fell over, wincing in pain.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Loser." she said to Boyens, turning her nose up at him. "Come on, Jack, let's go. I don't feel like killing anyone else."

Not being the opportune moment, they left the cave grounds and headed back to the ship. They boarded it, and sailed off toward Tortuga.

Well, yeah. Okay, that's it! Hope you enjoyed it. One thing I have to say is that I made a point that this is an alternate universe fic from my other two pirates fics. See, Jack is a jerk, and Celeste never had the courage to leave home. So that's why I mentioned Celeste. To show how much it would suck if they hadn't met. The whole point of this fic is that you can't live like Jack and Catherine. People like that don't fall in love -- they only care about themselves, so that also answers the question on if Jack and Catherine are going to fall in love. It's still going to be a good story, though, so please keep reading! Love you all!! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!

Random thought of the moment:

I LOVE KENNY CHESNEY!