Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait but my computer crashed and it's been a really long time getting fixed! Thanks for waiting!

Chapter 8

"Commandeering? More Like Stealing."

"Who would want to name a ship, Black Pearl?" Jack asked, his voice so low Will, Elizabeth and Rebecca could hardly hear him. It had been two days since the explosive events at the black smith shop and the whole town was buzzing with the rumors that Jack Sparrow may still be alive, despite what Norrington tried to tell everyone.

Now the four cohorts hid in the bushes, watching the Black Pearl float alongside the Dauntless. Both ships had minimal crew onboard, something Jack seemed to take as a good sign, despite the fact that he couldn't figure out how he knew this.

"You did." Will answered, his eyes still on the Pearl. Beside him, Rebecca shifted, the telescope jammed into her left eye. She seemed to be counting. "What's wrong with Black Pearl?"

"It's not a very good pirate name, is it?" Jack whispered back, scratching his ear. "I really named her?"

"I think so." Will answered truthfully. "Or who ever you got it from." Jack gave him a look. In the dark it was hard to tell what it meant. Will sighed, took the telescope from Rebecca and, crouching low, moved along the bushes, trying to get closer. Behind him, he could hear Jack say, 'Black Pearl, more like…'

The rest of his words were a murmur but Elizabeth sure reacted. "Jack!" She exclaimed, obviously at a loss. Will turned and saw her and Rebecca staring at him, Elizabeth shocked, Rebecca blushing. Jack shrugged.

"I'm a pirate, not a saint." He said simply, following after Will. When the young black smith had picked a new vantage point, they settled again and he watched the Pearl.

"Are you ready to commandeer the Black Pearl, Jack?" He asked, folding the telescope and sliding it into his pocket. Jack parted the leaves of the bush in front of him, watching the bay and sighed.

"Commandeering? More like stealing." He said. Will smiled and nodded. "I like stealing, I think."

"You love it." Will replied. "It's your call, Captain. What do you want to do?"

Jack's frown turned into an evil smirk. "I want my ship back."

On board the Black Pearl, Gillette sat in silence, contemplating all that had transpired. Why had he been stuck on ship sitting? What had he done to bring about the wrath of Norrington? He knew the Commodore was still sore about losing his fiancée to a black smith, and about Sparrow constantly slipping through the navy's grasp.

Sighing, he left the table and moved to the next room where there was a bed, a cabinet and an assortment of maps. Going to the cabinet, he began searching through the drawers and was slightly surprised to see a whole drawer full of women's clothing.

There were night gowns, gloves, dresses…undergarments. Perfume wafted from the mountains of silk and cotton, love notes scattered the bottom. Curious, he lifted out corset and was examining ti when a voice behind him said, "I don't think that would look good on you."

Whipping around and dropping the corset, Gillette rammed into the cabinet and closed the drawer on his fingers. Hissing in pain, he pulled them out roughly and leaned against the wall, terrified. It wasn't possible, he was dead.

Jack Sparrow stood before him, pistol raised. The pirate captain looked different, his hair not as messy and tangled, pulled back in a tail at the base of his neck. He still wore his bandana and the kohl beneath his eyes. He was dripping onto the oriental carpet, as though he'd swam from shore.

"Y…you." Gillette stammered. Sparrow's mouth lifted slightly at the corners but, other wise, he remained still. "You're dead."

"According to whom?" Jack asked. With a flick of the wrist, he motioned Gillette towards the door. Keeping his front facing the pirate, Gillette reluctantly moved where he was steered. The ghost seemed real enough, the rumors had only been rumors though, hadn't they?

"Turn around." Sparrow said. Gillette moaned and slowly revolved until he was facing the solid door. Beyond the heavy wood were his men…if only he could get to them. Suddenly, Sparrow was right behind him, his fluttering hands moving over the seams of his clothing and pulling out weapons left and right. Sparrow chuckled, sending hot breath down the side of his neck.

"It's almost like you were expecting me." Sparrow said, amused, throwing a second pistol onto the bed. Gillette didn't care to admit it but he was armed for this very reason. He was afraid of this ship, as were all men. Crews didn't simply disappear from her decks and the Pearl's crew had been experienced to a fault…no, something bad happened here. Now, Sparrow's ghost was with him, exactly what he had been afraid of.

Hoping he'd be able to get away, Gillette let himself sag forward as though he had fainted. Sparrow fell for it. Moving forward with a curse, he tried to pull Gillette back but the navy man threw his head back sharply and slammed it into Sparrow's face. The pirate pushed Gillette away from him, growling in pain. Gillette tried to move toward the bed but was stopped by a sword tip to his throat. Looking up he came face to face with Will Turner.

"You." He growled, straightening up. Will glanced over at Jack who was leaning against the wall holding his nose. It seemed fine but from the looks of it, he'd been hit hard. Elizabeth and Rebecca were beside him, watching the two near the bed.

"Me." Will said blandly. "Jack, you okay?" Jack straightened and let his hands fall from his face.

"Who is that?" He asked, pointing at Gillette, "I want to know so I can kill him and mark his name on his tombstone." There was a hidden knife in Jack's hand suddenly, and he advanced on Gillette with a deadly look in his eyes. Gillette fell back towards Will, the lesser of two evils.

"Jack, never mind. We're here for a reason." Will said, holding up a hand to stop his friend. Turning to Gillette, he lowered his sword. "If you know what's good for you, you will open that door a crack," He pointed to the captain's cabin door, "And tell the men outside to leave the ship."

Gillette looked so angry he was almost spitting. Jack, on the other hand, had calmed down and was looking around the cabin, seemingly impressed. Will grabbed Gillette's arm and moved him to the door.

"Hurry, we have a ship to steal, and don't alert them in anyway. I'll know about it." Gillette sighed and opened the door, angry blazing in his eyes. Leaning out the door, he called to his men.

"You can all leave. Take boats and move to the Dauntless. On my orders." Gillette called. There was a loud burst of talking outside and, after a few minutes, all was quiet. Will pulled Gillette back inside and closed the door, bolting it.

"Move to the table." Will ordered. Gillette gave him a scorching look and then moved to the table. Sitting down heavily, he watched the soaking occupants of the room for a moment and then his gaze shifted to Sparrow.

The man was acting odd in his opinion. He seemed disoriented and curious. Sparrow moved to the cabinet and opened the drawer with the women's clothing inside. He smiled, almost glowed. "I thought you said I wasn't a lady's man." He said to Will. Miss Swan rolled her eyes, almost embarrassed and moved around the cabin.

"I'm going to take a look around." Will said. "Jack, watch him. I'll take you on the grand tour once we're away."

Jack looked up, holding a lime green scarf in his hands. "I thought you sent the men on board to the Dauntless." He said. Will nodded. "So, won't they come after us?"

"No. Not enough people to steer that ship. We'll have a small head start…and this is the Black Pearl, the fastest ship in the Caribbean." He winked and left. Gillette sighed. This was really weird.

After a few hours they were still free. The Dauntless hadn't moved and no one in Port Royal had yet come after them, or so they all hoped. After locking the poor Gillette in the brig, Will had taken Jack on a tour of the Pearl, hoping to jog his memory. The Captain, however, was still out to sea.

"So you remember nothing?" Will asked, leaning on the railing as Jack steered. They were headed to Tortuga, how Jack knew the way, Will had no idea. Jack sighed and looked around his ship.

"I remember these sails were torn." He said, pointing up. Will nodded and moved his hand, urging him to continue. "I remember…Anamaria? I remember her ordering men around. I remember skeletons, and a large storm…many large storms." He turned around completely and stared at Will. "I remember a man who looked a lot like you, talking to me like I was a child." He smiled and turned back to his wheel. "I remember women…singing."

Will straightened at this. Women, singing? In all of the stories he'd heard, there was no singing. "What do you mean, Jack?"

"It was late at night, like this…and we were rounding the corner of an island. Anamaria was talking to me, as storm was coming and we were arguing about stopping for the night. Women were singing and…" He shivered and shrugged. "It was probably a dream." Somehow, Will didn't think so.

On the island, Anamaria huddled into herself, eyes trying to pierce the gloom. Beside her, Cotton was shivering in the dark, staring at the flames in front of them. The singing was getting louder.

TO MY REVEIWERS:

Back by popular demand, I have decided to continue with author responses and hope nothing bad happens. One of my reviewers convinced me so, here we go:

Blackmagic: LOL I'm glad you like that. I'm in love with fan fictions where Jack and Ana are together, I don't know why, I believe that no matter what happened, Ana left an impression on him. For better or worse.

meowbooks: Thank you so much, your compliments made me blush, truly. I'm glad you like it and I really hope it is original. I should look around a little more and make sure but what I'm planning with it, the whole thing, I'm sure is very original. Thank you.

alexwacrap: LOL That's ok. I know, the people on are really weird. Anyway, I'm gonna continue with what I like to do and, if anything happens, I'll make my own website and hope they don't try and shut that down to. LOL. Thanks.

Ailidh Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

forceflow46: Hey you! I would of course email you about new posts and stuff; I'll do that tonight, just in case my long wait had turned you off at all, so expect an email from me soon! I'm continuing with author responses though, which I'm happy about!

Vampyrewolf: Yeah, I really should re-read over my work but I get so excited for you all to read it! LOL. I have to calm down. Thanks a lot.

morph Sorry about the length of the last one. This one was a little bit longer. Glad you like it!

Elessar-Lover: I'm sorry it took so long! LOL, I hope you liked it! Anyway, That stupid rule sucks but I was never one to play by the rules for very long so lets hope and prey I don't get in trouble! LOL. Thanks.

Oocssuck: LOL, I know about that review but I'm not following it anymore. I miss answering to all of you! Anyway, yeah those big words I didn't know either. I searched forever to get them. Yeah, poor Sampson. I always kill off the new guys for some reason. But, I suspect you readers would hate me if I killed off a really well known one, eh? Sorry it took so long.

VeganHippie: Sorry, but I did it! LOL. Sampson? Well, Sampson got eaten I think. I'm not sure, that's up to your imagination for now. Maybe they'll find his body or something. We'll see. LOL.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! To anyone I may have missed or who isn't reviewing, thank you!