Hey, everyone! I have a few things to add before we get on with the story.

cornishxxxpixie- Thank you so much for being a loyal reviewer and giving me so much praise. It is greatly appreciated that you took the time to read my story.

Freckled Raven- I had already started writing this when I got your review, and I couldn't help but smile. You said she was a Mary Sue, and that's kind of how I wanted her to seem in the beginning because of how she ends up. But I promise it gets better. Thank you so much for reviewing my story, and I hope you continue to give me your opinion on the following chapters.

AJ-Sparrow- Thank you so much for taking the time to review! Don't worry; this isn't going to be the script of the movie – that would be extremely boring. Please keep reviewing!

jackslittlefriend- Hey, girl! Thanks for reviewing – you had me going. I was about to call you up and ask you what was so wrong with my story – until I got to the end. Oh, aren't we really bad eggs?

All of you are great authors, and great inspirations to me. I am so honored to be reviewed by you.

Lost in Madness

Chapter three: No Perfection Here

The room was filled with the thick stench of smoke and gun powder, not to mention the sounds of urgent feet and voices drifted in through the window. Alex groaned as she woke, swallowing a few times to ease her stomach. She opened her eyes, but hastily closed them again in the midmorning sunlight. For awhile, she just laid there, trying hard to ignore her pounding headache. Finally, she stood, and gasped.

She couldn't remember where she was, or how she had gotten there – but worst of all, she couldn't remember who the man was that was asleep on the far side of the mattress. She hastily pulled the sheet of the bed and covered up her naked body. He only mumbled incoherently in his sleep and turned.

She sorted through the piles of clothes on the floor until she found her own, and then pulled them onto her sore body. With a last glance at the strange man, she left the room.

He hadn't been ugly, thankfully, but she wouldn't have picked him if she had been sober. He had looked to be either her age, or a year or so younger, and had a toned body and messy ginger hair, and was probably as drunk as she had been. But what bothered her most was that he wasn't the first man she had woken up to in her years, and she could only imagine the ones she hadn't woken up to.

The bar was empty as she left, and she was glad. The last thing she needed was to be called a whore. She stepped out of the door and onto the street, and then gasped.

Something terrible had happened when she had been too drunk to notice. The stores were broken into and some burnt – others were just in pieces. Bodies littered the street, and a small child lay dead in the gutter. Redcoats ran back and forth, some carrying corpses, some carrying injured people, and others taking inventory of the damage. Nearby, she could hear someone talking. She crept closer, hoping to hear what had happened.

' . . . . Never thought this would happen 'ere in Port Royal! Pirates, can you believe it? Right here in Port Royal, the Black Pearl was! And I heard they took the governor's daughter, Elizabeth!'

Alex's jaw clenched in anger, but her blood still ran cold. She took off at a hasty walk down the street, towards the jailhouse. Sparrow had something to do with this, and she was going to find out what. Or, at least, she would attempt to.

Suddenly, nausea and dizziness washed over her, and she stumbled to the ground. She pressed her palms to her forehead and felt tears threatening to fall. Why had she gotten so drunk last night? She gave a ragged cough and looked at the dirt street.

'Will?'

She crawled, on hands and knees, to her friend's side. He was unconscious, but still breathing. She shook him hard, and he gave a grunt, his eyes fluttering bit, but nothing more.

'Will? Will! William Turner, if you don't wake up this instant I swear on me bone's I'll – oh, hello, Will,' she muttered, blushing. Will blinked and rubbed his eyes, sitting up.

'You'll what?' he asked.

'Nothing – you know me, Will, all talk and no action. Will, come on, something's happened! Pirates attacked, and they . . . they took Elizabeth!'

'I saw them,' Will stated, standing. Luckily, he was too angry to ask Alex why she needed help to her feet, and pulled her up while telling her that they were going to talk to Norrington.

'But, Will, wouldn't it be easier to go straight to the problem?' she asked as they walked, swaying slightly. 'I heard someone talking, and they said it was the Pearl that attacked – y'know, as in the notorious pirate ship everyone talks about?Wouldn'tit make sense to ask a pirate forhelp since it's a pirate ship? Shouldn't we talk to Sparrow?'

'And what's he going to do?' Will asked. 'If he did have something to do with all of this, he's not going to be in his cell anyhow.'

'But isn't it worth a try?' she questioned, stepping in front of him. 'What would Norrington do, anyhow? He doesn't know anything about pirates, except that he wants them dead. He doesn't know the Black Pearl any better than we do.' And, she added to herself, the walk to the jailhouse is a lot shorter than the walk to Norrington's office.

'Fine, but if you're wrong . . . .' he trailed off, giving her a look. She held up her hands and followed him in the opposite direction, right to where she had been headed in the first place. Will bounded down the stairs easily, but Alex wasn't so graceful. She wasn't sure how she had done it, but she tripped on the last step and had to lean against the wall to regain her balance. She looked up, only to find Sparrow watching her innocently from the floor of his cell, a bone stuck in the lock to his door.

'Trying to escape?' she asked, heaving herself from the wall.

'Wha' makes yeh think that?' Jack retorted, pulling his hands under his head.

'Locks don't eat,' she stated wryly. 'Look, we've got a proposition for you.'

'Alex, what are you -?' Will hissed in her ear, and she turned on him, staring him down until he came to the conclusion that she would be doing the talking.

"N wha' would that be, darlin'?' Jack asked, amused. She walked to his cell and rested on the bars, cocking her head to the side.

'You owe Elizabeth, don't you? After all, you threatened her,' Alex stated slowly, allowing him time to remember who Elizabeth was.

'I don't owe 'er a thing,' Jack said. 'I already repaid 'er fer lettin' 'er go free.'

'That's not enough.'

'It's not? 'N who are yeh to say?' She ignored his question and continued, her grasp on the bars strengthening as her stomach gave an unpleasant twist, and she was, for a moment, unsure if she could hold her rum.

'I'll give you two choices, Sparrow –' she started shakily.

'Cap'n Sparrow, love, Cap'n Sparrow.'

'One, you can stay in here and await your trial, and hope that you can come up with a magnificent escape on your own. Two, you can agree to help us rescue Elizabeth.'

'There's no profit in tha' fer me, love. Sorry,' he drawled, looking at his dirty nails.

'No, I really think there is,' Alex insisted. 'You see, we'd be going after the Black Pearl. Me and Will Turner here would simply come back here.'

'Will Turner, eh?' Jack asked, now looking mildly interested. "N who are yeh?'

'Alex O'Conner.'

'I s'pose yeh'll be supplyin' drinks?' he asked slyly. Again, Alex's blood ran cold. Was it that obvious? She gritted her teeth and glared at Jack, hoping against hope he'd shut up and Will wouldn't see the connection. He gave her a crooked grin and continued. 'How d'yeh s'pose on gettin' me out – the key's run off.'

'I helped build these,' Will spoke up. Alex let him continue talking while she walked a few steps, concentrating on her breathing. Her stomach pained her greatly, and she found her flesh prickling with a chill, sweat misting her forehead. There was a loud crash behind her, and she turned around to see Jack free and grabbing is effects, with Will watching her questionably.

'I'm fine – let's go,' Alex growled. Jack led them through the shadows and around the crowds until they came to the stream, where they hid under the bridge.

'We're going to steal a ship?' Will asked hesitantly.

'Commandeer - we're goin' t' commandeer that ship,' Jack stated, motioning towards the Interceptor, 'nautical term.'

'And how do you plan on doing that?' Alex asked.

'Well, since yeh're the one who asked me t' do this, I suggest yeh just trust me,' Jack snapped. Alex glared at him when he met her gaze, and he sighed slightly.

'We're gonna get under one o' those there canoes and use it t' give us air while we sneak over t' the Dauntless underwater.'

'Oh,' Alex breathed. 'Clever.'

'Ain't it?' Jack grinned, turning back to the beach. 'Okay, we'll go on me command, 'n on me command only,' Jack added as Alex moved forward a bit. 'Go. Quietly, missy, go quietly.'

Alex rolled her eyes and, hunched down so they wouldn't be seen, followed Jack. They scrambled across the beach and threw themselves under a canoe, just as a couple of redcoats ran by.

'How yeh doin'?' Jack asked Alex quietly.

'Fine,' she snarled. Jack gave her am innocent look that said 'I was just asking,' and counted to three under his breath. On three, they lifted the canoe slightly, and scooted like crabs across the sand to the waterline. Alex held her breath at first, doubting the canoe would hold air, but once the water was feet above their heads, she exhaled and smiled as the cold water soothed her aching muscles.

'Will, watch it,' Alex muttered, seeing the crab trap lying up ahead. He barely missed it, and wouldn't have if she hadn't warned him.

'This is either brilliance, or madness,' Will muttered.

'It's remarkable 'ow often those two traits coincide,' Jack stated.

'I think its brilliance,' Alex muttered under her breath, but accidentally loud enough for Jack to hear. Damn echo, she thought, cursing at the way the water and the canoe made everything louder than it was supposed to be. Jack grinned cockily and she rolled her eyes, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks. Damn pirate, she added.

'Alrigh', on three, let the canoe go 'n we'll swim up 'n climb the ship,' Jack stated, then turned to Alex. 'Can yeh swim?'

"Course I can!'

'Alrighty then, we're set. One . . . two . . . three.' Alex took a deep breath and kicked off, following the two men. But the longer she held her breath, the more her head began to spin from her hangover. Suddenly, Jack grasped her elbow and pulled her along with him. Soon, they broke the surface, long before Will.

'Remember not t' drink next time, savvy?' he grumbled. She nodded and coughed heavily, watching Will finally surface.

'Alex, are you alright? What's wrong?'

'Nothing, Will, I just got winded, that's all,' she soothed, taking hold of the hull of the ship and pulling herself up. Jack met her gaze, warning her silently not to push herself to hard, and she continued on, the need to dry out her pistol suddenly springing to mind. She stopped mid-climb and let her hand drop to her belt, making sure her pistol was still there.

'What're yeh doin', missy?' Jack asked, coming alongside her.

'Wha -? Oh, nothing,' she muttered, furrowing her brows. She continued on, vaulting happily over the rail and onto the deck, glad to be rid of the physical exertion.

'Stay calm, we are taking over this ship!' Jack stated loudly, walking down the stairs – or rather swaying down the stairs. Alex followed, with Will close behind her. She wore a satisfied grin, though she wasn't sure why. Will drew his sword and was about to say something when Alex jabbed him in the ribs to keep him quiet.

'Two men and a woman can't possibly man this ship. You won't even make it out of the bay,' a man Alex knew to be Gillette stated arrogantly. Alex walked past Jack before he could reply.

'Well, this woman has worked for merchant sailors ever since her father died, and has sailed even longer,' Alex spat. She heard Jack cock his pistol and she stepped out of the way, giving him a clear aim of Gillette's forehead.

"N yeh've forgotten another thing, mate. I'm Cap'n Jack Sparrow, savvy?' Gillette went cross-eyed as he stared down the barrel of the pistol, and Jack whispered in Alex's ear.

'Disable the rudder chain.'

She nodded and set off as Jack and Will forced the soldiers into the rowboat they had used for air. Her task was finished before theirs, and so she decided to explore the ship a little. The captain's quarters were lavishly furnished, and the crew's quarters weren't shabby. The kitchen was clean and well stocked, but then she found the winery.

She hesitated, her hand clenching the doorknob. She knew she shouldn't, but then she was already craving it, and her cravings would only get worse . . .

Hastily, she turned around and slammed the door, climbing the ladder to the deck. Jack was stuffing his pistol back under his sash, and Will held his sword loosely in his hand.

'Where'd yeh go, love?' Jack asked, his suspicions rising.

'I didn't take any,' she stated bluntly. Will furrowed his brows but said nothing, because the Interceptor had begun to drift towards them.

'Here they come,' Will muttered. Jack grinned and ordered them to hide. Alex watched through the railing as the Interceptor pulled alongside its parent-ship. She didn't realize she was trembling with excitement, but Jack gave her a look and she bit her lip to control herself.

'Once they're all across, we'll swing over,' Jack stated, mostly to Alex, because she had asked the first time, 'cut their ropes, and take off.'

'Aye, aye, cap'n,' she said sarcastically. Jack ignored her sarcasm and stood on edge, waiting for his moment. Finally, he found it, and the three of them sprung to their feet and swung over without being seen, though how they managed it none of them were quite sure. Alex ducked below the rail as Jack and Will cut the ropes connecting the two ships together. Jack gave her a look, which seemed to be a habit of his, and she rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, Jack and Will had to duck, also, as the redcoats decided to open fire. But they were on there way, and soon, they were safe.

Okay, sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter – I had to fight for computer rights. Okay, please tell me how you liked it, or if you liked it. I really enjoy getting reviews, so if you're reading this, please drop a review, even if it just says 'hi,' or 'I'm reading your fanfiction.' Big hugs to all of my reviewers! Ta!