A/N: …And here it is, the long 'awaited' sequel to Tell No Lies. is proud to have the first chapter out before exams I hope you like it…please keep in mind though that because of exams, which you all know blow, the next chapter might not be out for a little while longer…so please be patient. Also, thoughts are in italics and Jack's dark thoughts are in bold italics. Also, if you haven't read Tell No Lies, it's a good idea to read it before this. Ya know, just for background info.

Disclaimer: Stop depressing me. I do NOT own Pirates of the Caribbean; it belongs to Disney. I do NOT own Johnny Depp, though I wish I did…he belongs to himself. The only things I own related to this fic are the plot, my character Tristan Jones, Port York, and any other OC which pops up in here, which I shall inform you of immediately in future disclaimers. The only things I own otherwise are my POTC DVD, my dog, computer, my imagination, and a few bucks in my pocket. So no sueing, savvy?

Summary: Sequel to Tell No Lies. On The Black Pearl, things seem pretty peaceful…but peace never lasts, at least in the life of Captain Jack Sparrow. Will he be able to survive when his enemy is…himself?

Remember Me

Chapter 1

Dark Horizons

The day started out fairly normal, in pirate terms. The Black Pearl sailed regally across the ocean blue, with few clouds covering the hot, powerful sun above.

Everything seemed pretty calm from a bird's eye view, but things were never 'calm' aboard The Black Pearl. With a loony pirate captain, an easily tense blacksmith, a pregnant woman, and strange pirate crew onboard, it could hardly be 'calm'.

At that time, shouts could be heard from the captain's cabin.

"You idiot! You can't do that!"

"Yes I can, dear William. I do know how to play poker, ye know."

"Well, you obviously don't know how to play fair! You're cheating!"

"Well, what do ye expect from a pirate? Besides, ye have no proof, mate,"

"You just admitted it, Jack!" Will shouted in exasperation.

In the past four months since Will and Elizabeth had decided to stay on The Black Pearl after the incident with Jones, little had changed. They were still living on the ship with the loopy pirate and his crew, having not found any place 'suitable' to settle down. But another reason they hadn't settled down anywhere was because they were fond of the adventures they had on the ship, even though they didn't really enjoy the prospect of raiding other ships. But they would eventually need to find a place for a very important reason- Elizabeth was pregnant (which caused Jack to make many remarks about Will perhaps not being a eunuch after all). Because of this, the blacksmith had been a bit more stressed and snappish, not wanting anything to befall his wife and their unborn child. Hence the short temper and agitated disposition around Jack and the rest of the crew.

"Technically, I didn't," Jack answered, pointing a ringed index finger at the lad. "I just said pirates cheat, which is a fact. But, I never said anything about meself cheating, savvy?"

Will let out a frustrated groan, and dumped his playing hand on the table. "That's it. I'm not going to play cards with you when you're just going to cheat the whole time."

"Well, if yer worried about that, what the bloody hell are ye doin' on a pirate ship?'

Will let out an angry roar and stood up, stomping off towards the door. "Damn dumbass pirate," Will muttered under his breath.

The blacksmith was about to exit when Jack threw a pillow from nearby at Will, which hit him square in the back. It didn't hurt him at all, but it made him even angrier.

"Captain!" the pirate spat, "Dumbass pirate captain!"

Will swirled around to face the eccentric man. "Do you even realize I just insulted you?" he asked in exasperation.

"I do realize it," Jack replied calmly with crossed arms, "But if yer gonna insult me, at least do so by my proper title!"

"You are hopeless!" snarled the enraged blacksmith, stomping out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

"But I still outrank ye!" the pirate captain shouted back to Will's fleeting form. When silence followed, Jack simply shrugged to himself. He reached over to collect the whelp's cards and skimmed over them. "Hmm, too bad he ran off; he would have won,"

---

Will dashed furiously over to the side of the ship, a growl growing in his throat. He leaned over the side, shutting his eyes closed tightly, trying to calm himself. He really had no reason to be mad at his friend; Jack was just being himself. But Will had been so stressed out lately that he could find no other way to vent it out.

The blacksmith breathed in deeply, and to anyone who was looking at him they would have thought he was seasick. Well, in a way, he was-- but not in the vomiting way. God, I'm going to be a father, he thought in amazement, And that means I have to be thinking of my child's future…he, or she, can't grow up on a pirate ship. We have to find a town to live in soon.

Will looked up at the beautifully sparkling ocean. …But I can't keep it out of my life completely. I hate to admit it but…I love the ocean. My child will love it, too…damn pirate blood, he laughed a little at that, standing up straight. But we still can't live on a pirate ship. I at least want my child to have morals. With a small sigh, the soon to be father turned away and sank down to his knees. God, this is all one huge headache, he thought wearily, bringing a hand to his forehead. I'll at least have to apologize to Jack for my rudeness…and give Elizabeth some attention as well. She must hate being fondled so just 'because she's pregnant'.

But the young man want to be calm before seeing anyone else as to not have another outburst, and wanted to have a proper apology thought out in case he ran into Jack again. Will closed his cinnamon brown eyes, breathing slowly and steadily, his thoughts wandering. Without his own consent, he fell asleep in that position on deck, around the same time Jack fell asleep in his cabin as well, darkness rising throughout the sky as the sun fell into a deep slumber in unison, dark clouds and the moon taking its place.

---

It wasn't long before Will woke up with a start. It wasn't due to a bad dream or any of the crew stirring him, but a load crash of thunder enveloping the area. The young man perked up immediately, standing up with a jolt. How long had he been asleep? It was pitch black, the moon barely lighting shadows…due to the fact that dark gloomy clouds blanketed it and all of the stars in the sky. There was a chill in the air, strong gusty winds blowing up Will's shirt and making the sails of the ship dance. Then, the rain fell.

As if on cue the whole crew swept up on deck, shouts of alarm and panic echoing in the blacksmith's ears. They immediately went to work to keep The Black Pearl stable in the treacherous storm.

"Will!" The soon to be father whirled around, whether of his own free will or because of the winds it was hard to tell. He wouldn't have recognized the figure as Elizabeth, if not for the sound of her voice.

"Elizabeth!" Will called back, his voice barely making it over the howls of the storm. Will flew towards his wife, said women barely able to keep balance as she ran towards her husband. Will grasped firmly around the woman's waist, but gently as to not hurt the growing baby inside.

"You shouldn't be here, Elizabeth!"

"I had to find you!" Elizabeth had to shout back, a clap of thunder overriding her voice, followed by a few seconds of light from a lightning strike.

In that moment the blacksmith looked around himself. He saw the crew working at the sails and other tasks to keep the ship afloat. He saw Gibbs, Ana-Maria, and Mr. Cotton…then finally Jack, who had forgotten his coat, hat, boots, and effects in his cabin, sprinting towards the helm of the ship.

"Jack!" Will called out as darkness fell once more, with more claps of thunder drowning out all noise. At that moment, the lad knew one thing- he had to get to Jack. Knowing the pirate captain, he would stand by and protect his ship even if a tidal wave crashed down on them. He had to make sure Jack would be safe.

The blacksmith squinted his eyes in hopes to catch another glimpse of Jack, but didn't see him again. He knew the general direction of the dedicated pirate captain, so he would have to hope for the best in his search for him.

Will turned his head to where he thought Elizabeth's face would be, "Elizabeth," he addressed slowly, "I'm going to go get Jack. I want you to tie yourself to one of the ship's masts. Alright?"

"No, I can't, I won't leave you!" the young woman argued in a pleading voice.

"Elizabeth, please, you have to," the lad was to yell back over the roar of the storm in a worried and panicked tone, "Please…for yours and our baby's sake."

The soon to be mother was silent for a moment, Will simply staring back into her eyes as the barely visible moon reflected off them. He couldn't tell if it was rain or tears in her eyes.

"A-alright then," Elizabeth answered softly in defeat.

Will would've smiled if he didn't have other things on his mind. They pushed against the treacherous wind, the blacksmith feeling his way around the deck. At one point the couple were nearly blown over, but it wasn't long before the young man's wandering hands clamed a rope. He wrapped one end around the ship's mast, and tied the other end as gently as possible around Elizabeth's waist. After he was done his task, the lad looked into his wife's eyes, which were filled with sadness and regret. Will knew she wanted to help-- but he wouldn't let her get hurt. The blacksmith hugged and kissed her one final time before dashing away.

At that moment the winds got fiercer. Elizabeth watched her husband run off, another stroke of lightning flashing by and illuminating the area. She felt so helpless just standing there, holding onto the ship's mast while everyone else risked life and limb to make sure The Black Pearl didn't capsize; she hated that feeling.

Even though she knew Will wouldn't like it, the pregnant woman wouldn't allow this feeling of helplessness survive for long.

---

Looking at him, people would have thought Jack had finally gone mad, with a wide grin plastered on his face as he struggled to control his ship's course. But that was actually not the case-- he was so drenched with rain and with the wind blowing directly on him, he was freezing cold and his teeth were chattering uncontrollably. His hands grasped onto his ship's helm so tightly they were tinged blue. At that point the pirate captain decided he hated storms.

Light flashed by across the sky and it rumbled with thunder angrily. Jack would have laughed at its rage insanely if not for the fact that his teeth wouldn't stop clattering together. In that instance which the sky was lit up, he saw someone running towards him from the side-- Will.

The pirate frowned as much as his frozen face would allow. With him just walking around like that, the blacksmith would surely get swept up in the storm, or worse, washed overboard.

"Honestly, lad, why can't ye just refrain from doin' somethin' stupid?" Jack croaked, "Ye shouldn't be over here! Go back to--" the pirate was cut off by a sudden clap of thunder, lightning attacking the sea for a full 15 seconds. In that time the wind picked up and one of the sails the crew was trying to secure gave way, sweeping in the wind and dropping over Will like a fly.

"Will!" Jack gasped; the buccaneer gave his ship's helm one last fleeting glance before dashing after the young blacksmith. When he reached him, the pirate wrestled with the blanket of fabric. He swam his arms about, desperate to find his companion. Suddenly, he felt Will's arm, and he pulled him out from the prison of sails.

They tumbled to the ground in a heap painfully, a gust of wind blowing them over. They both rapidly sat up, Will shaking his head and Jack rubbing his own.

"Ugh, Jack," the frazzled blacksmith groaned, "You have to get to safety. You can't be at the helm the whole time or…"

"Don't be lecturin' me, whelp," the pirate snapped irritably, "Follow yer own bloody advice!"

"Jack, if you would just listen--!" the young man was cut off when the ship gave a sudden dangerous lurch, sending the pair toppling over again and near the edge of the ship. Will smacked against the side, sending rainbows across his vision. Will wrapped his arms around the wooden edge unconsciously, just as the ship lurched again, anchoring himself to prevent the blacksmith from falling off The Black Pearl.

When it seemed like the winds had calmed down momentarily, Will opened his eyes, realizing for the first time that he had clenched them shut. "Jack?" he called, his voice suddenly hoarse.

Silence. "Jack!" Will yelled more urgently.

"Aye!" Jack's seemingly distant voice echoed back. Will looked around, trying to locate his friend.

"Where are you?" the blacksmith questioned loudly.

"In a…very awkward position," Jack called back, "Try lookin' overboard!"

"What?" Will frowned, feeling dread creep into his stomach. The young man stood up and turned around swiftly, leaning over the ship, his eyes squinted.

Will couldn't help but gasp when he saw Jack barely a foot away, dangling off the side of The Black Pearl, his fingers holding him tightly for dear life. The blacksmith wasn't able to make out his expression due to the shroud of darkness, but he could hear the pirate grunting as he struggled to hang on.

"Oh, god!" Will yelled out, racing towards the pirate. He reached forward and grabbed Jack by one of his wrists. "Grab my hand!" the blacksmith ordered urgently, holding out his other hand.

The pirate complied; leaving him suspended in air with only the young man as his support.

"Hold on!" Will grunted, planting his feet on the slippery deck. He then started to pull, but found it hard to pull his friend up. "What the hell are you wearing, anvils?!"

"It's the wet, whelp," Jack growled back through his chattering teeth, his eyes squinted, pushing down the urge to yell out in pain from Will's harsh pulls, "It weighs me down!"

"Well, I hate--" A sudden gust of wind sent to soon to be father toppling over and towards the ocean-- "STORMS!!"

He and Jack were about to fall completely off the ship and towards the sea when someone suddenly grabbed the blacksmith's shirt from behind. Will regained his balance and glanced back, only to see Elizabeth's drenched face.

"E-elizabeth!" sputtered Will, "I thought I told you to stay where it's safe!"

"Well, it's a good thing I didn't, or else you'd be shark food now," his wife shot back crossly.

Will couldn't argue with that, and for a moment he just stared at her, his mouth slightly ajar.

"Um, William, now's not the time to gap at 'Lizbeth's beauty," Jack called with a wince, "I'm sort of slippin'--!"

The pair averted their attention back to the pirate, and immediately leapt into action; Will got a firmer grip on Jack's hands, and with Elizabeth holding him around his waist, proceeded to pull the captain onboard. They slowly inched back, teeth gritted in strain and concentration; the pirate's body slowly came into view. Jack was almost completely on the ship when another huge gust of wind swept them forward. With a surprised cry, both Will and his wife flew forward, while the pirate in peril fell back down, the young lad now only holding Jack by a hand. Will was half off the ship, the other half struggling to be held in place by the pregnant Elizabeth.

Will was gripping Jack's hands so tightly his knuckles were a ghostly white, and Jack winced in half pain, half fear for their lives. At a time like this, the pirate's voice decided to abandon him.

"Don't worry, I won't let go, Jack," Will called out in a strained voice.

"Lad, don't get yerself killed ove' me," the daft man half-whispered in a grim voice.

"What do you mean?" the blacksmith asked, confused.

"By the look of things, either meself or the two of us are headin' to meet ol' Davey Jones," Jack explained, his head bobbing back and forth to make up for the fact that he couldn't use his arms and hands to emphasize his words. "An' believe me, one of us can't risk dyin'…one of us has a future…besides, I belong to the sea an'…"

"Stop trying to be noble, it doesn't suit you," Will snapped suddenly.

"I'm not tryin' to be noble, just tryin' to refrain from doin' somethin' stupid," the pirate countered, "Think about it, whelp; if ye die, Elizabeth has to raise yer unborn child all by her onesies. She'll be heartbroken…and the young'un will be fatherless. Do you really want that to happen, Will?"

Within moments, the blacksmith's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Jack didn't want what happened to Will, happen to the baby. Growing up without a father was horrible…it was not an experience he wished to have his child endure.

But he couldn't let his friend die either.

"No, Jack, we'll be okay, we'll make it out of this," Will argued.

"Whelp, yer doin' somethin' stupid that rewrites the very definition--!"

"I'll never let go!!" the desperate blacksmith bellowed with sincerity, eyes shut tightly.

The clap of thunder that followed didn't make anyone feel any better.

Jack was somewhat shocked by Will's statement, his kohl-rimmed eyes wide and expression taken aback. A heartbeat later he recovered and narrowed his expressive optics. "What makes ye think I won't let go then?" he asked softly in a dangerous voice.

"Because…you value your life too much," Will answered, "Your ship, your friends, Ana-Maria…you have too much to live for, even if you can't always see it,"

Jack let his head hang back loosely, almost in defeat. "How 'bout we just stop arguin' and save it for after ye 'save' me?"

With great relief, Will cracked a smile at his friend. The blacksmith looked back and called out to his wife, "Pull us up!"

The pregnant woman immediately reacted; Will attempted to grip his numb hands tighter around Jack's, said pirate doing the same, as Will's wife dug her feet into the ground, teeth gritted and breathing through them harshly, and began pulling her husband and friend onboard as hard as she could.

Will was soon completely on deck, the pirate captain inching closer…closer…

None of them were prepared for the wave of ocean water that hit them, Will especially. It fell over the entire ship like a bad omen, engulfing any screams that may have been heard.

Since most everyone were tied to the ship by some spare rope, including Elizabeth, they really only got drenched.

But Will, who was 'Jack's rope', did the worst possible thing In surprise and fear, he let go.

Jack let out a sharp yelp in surprise when the blacksmith let go. As Will and Elizabeth flew across the ship, he plummeted towards the sea. Other than the yelp, he was silent for the fall, in shock, his arms and legs flailing. His life seemed to flash before his eyes, all within 5 seconds…his mother, who he had only seen in paintings since she died while giving birth to him, his father, his whole career as a pirate, the last few years, his friends…

No, it can't end like this, he thought desperately, I don't want to be remembered this way…

You shouldn't be remembered at all. Look at everything you've done…do you really deserve it?

Jack shook the thoughts from his head. Of course I need to be remembered! I'm Captain Jack--

The pirate hit the ocean with a great splash, and everything around Jack got even blacker than before very quickly when his head slammed against the ship while under water.

…Sparrow.

---

It took a moment for Will to regain his bearings. Stunned and sluggish, he shook his head and looked around. "Elizabeth?" he called out in a slur of dizziness.

"I'm fine," his wife answered back from beside the young man, "But where's Jack?"

Will froze, suddenly feeling awake and very numb. He glanced down at his hands, almost expecting to see the pirate holding them. No…I…let go…

Will leapt to his feet and dashed to the side of the ship. Thunder sounded in the distance. Will grasped onto the railings and leaned his head over. "Jack?!" he bellowed in despair, "Jack?! Jack!!" the only answer he received was the continuous rumble of thunder and a flash of lighting, sparking light and reflecting off the empty ocean, dark blue waves splashing against the ship. The short glimmer of light shimmered on Will's face, illuminating his wet, tear streaked face, full of despair and frustration. "Nooooo!! Jaaaaack!!" His cry was once again engulfed by thunder, lost to the sea just like the pirate captain.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Did anyone else see a hint of Titanic in this? Oo;; Please don't kill me. I love my Jacky-poo, too. I do appreciate reviews, though…;