So, here ya go! As promised! I hope someone out there is still reading and enjoying this..

I'm a bit nervous about this one as my regular and wonderful Beta Jackfan2 hasn't checked this through with me so for the first chapter in ages, I'm on my own! I want to thank my lovely friend Janine for checking the grammer for me but otherwise, this is just mine! So this could be where it all goes wrong so please please give me your feedback. If you are still on Julie and are reading this, please contact me as I'm getting kinda worried.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the memory ofmy friend and fellow Jack lover Hellborne. You will be sorely missed hon.

OK, on we go.. remember, please review!

Chapter 15

Jack opened his eyes, and then gasped in shock. It took him only a second to realise where he was. He was on the deck of his beloved Black Pearl – and there was chaos all around him. It was night time and they were slap bang in the middle of a storm. The rain was pelting down and Jack could hear the low rumble of thunder in the distance. He gasped when the night sky was lit up by a large flash of lightning. Jack heard voices he recgonised coming from all directions and he swung round madly, trying to clear his head and recognise someone. He let out a breath when he saw Gibbs nearby, trying to organise the crew.

"Get a move on, Mister Cotton!" Gibbs was shouting, "before she capsizes in this storm!"

Gibbs was running then, towards more men, issuing demands. Jack could see the panic in his first mate's face. At that moment, Gibbs looked up and made eye contact with Jack.

"Gibbs!" Jack called to his friend, but the other man looked straight through him. The pirate didn't even acknowledge his presence. Jack blinked his eyes in confusion. He wasn't there. Was he dreaming? No, not a dream, he had been on that small craft with Will and Elizabeth, then there was a blinding pain - and now this. He was seeing what had happened all that time ago, what he had forgotton. There was one main question he needed answering. This was His Pearl, His crew. They were in trouble. So – where the hell was HE?

He heard a shout of "Sorcery, this is sorcery! Black magic made that fog appear! We're all doomed I tell ye!" Jack couldn't tell who had spoken.

"Don't be a damned fool!" came a harsh female voice in response. Jack whirled around and his breath caught in his throat when he caught sight of the only female member of his crew, Anamaria. He gasped as she made straight for him – and, to his disbelief, passed right through his body! It took Jack a moment to recover. He gazed down at his own body. 'This is how a ghost feels,' he reasoned. His eyes returned to Anamaria, a fierce sense of pride suddenly burining within him. She was rushing to and fro along the deck, her long hair flying behind her, issuing orders one minute and assisting the crew in carrying them out the next.

Gibbs had made his way up to Anamaria and he was shouting in her ear.

"The men aren't wrong and you know that missy. This IS sorcery, like that damned curse was!"

Anamaria turned on him in fury. "You hold your tongue Gibbs! We will get through this." She grabbed his arm roughly. "You know the Pearl is strong enough."

Gibbs shook his head. "Like us, this ship needs her Captain and he's not here lassie, not anymore."

Jack moved back a step in surprise. He wasn't aboard the Pearl? Where exactly was he then?

Anamaria tightened her grip on Gibbs, casuind the man to curse. "Don't you EVER say that, do you hear? Not ever! The Captain will be back with us, he needs rest, and that is all."

Gibbs despair showed on his face now. "That not be Captain Sparrow locked in that cabin Missy and you know it as well as I do. We have to get him off the ship, before its too late!"

Anamaria stared at him. "No! Anyone could find him! You know how many men want Jack dead Gibbs? It would be like throwing him to the wolves! I won't do it!"

The first mate gazed down at his boots. "There's no choice lassie. He is not my Captain or yours anymore, he is a monster. And we both have an idea as to what caused it. Get him away from that damned stone, maybe he'll be Jack Sparrow again."

Anamaria let out a low sob, and then, very slowly, she nodded. "You must hurry though, Mr Gibbs," she told him, releasing her grip on his arm. "He's still out cold at the moment. If he wakes up, he'll kill us all."

With a quick affectionate stroke of her hair, Gibbs turned and rushed away, towards the cabins.

Anamaria watched him go and then, once he was out of sight, shesank to her knees.She began tosob uncontrollably and Jack, who had witnessed their entire conversation with growing panic, felt his heart break as he watched her grief. With a soft mutter of "don't cry luv," he held his hand out just above her head, wishing that he could touch her, comfort her. Suddenly Ana stopped crying and slowly raised her head. Very softly, almost incoherently, she whispered, "Jack?" The pirate Captain gaped at her. She had felt his presence! But in the next breath she was cursing herself harshly for being so stupid and was on her feet, waiting for Gibbs to return. She didn't have to wait long.

At a shout of "Hurry up there," both Jack and Anamaria turned to watch a group of men including Gibbs and Cotton rushing towards then and dragging a prone Jack Sparrow between them.

"How long will he be out for Anamaria?" Gibbs asked.

"It was a strong sleeping mixture I put in his rum," Anamaria replied and she looked away. "I had no choice." She seemed to be assuring herself more than Gibbs.

"No lassie, you didn't," Gibbs told her, "but now whatever did this to Jack has now conjured up this here storm." He gestured to Cotton to move and the two of them were pulling Jack to the side of the ship. "We have to get him off and quickly."

Anamaria suddenly jumped forward. "Wait," she snapped to them. Other members of the crew had now stopped their tasks and were watching as the fiery female pirate removed a sharp knife from her boot and then, weapon raised, she moved ever closer to Jack.

The ghostly Jack Sparrow watched her nervously and then eyed the other Jack. He couldn't quite believe he was staring at his own sleeping self. He saw Anamaria cut his other self's shirt to reveal his chest. Jack's hand went automatically to his own shirt and he found a rip in the same place as Ana had just cut. This was just too eerie for him. He heard Ana curse and his gaze returned to her.

That was when he saw it for the first time. There was a stone attached to a chain around the other Jack's neck. It was a metal that 'ghost Jack' didn't recognise and it was, to his horror, glowing red. Anamaria was eying the item with hatred. She grabbed at the chain and pulled with all her might. It came free in her hand and in that instant, a peace seemed to pass through the prone Jack. Taking everyone by surprise including 'ghost Jack,' the other Jack's eyes snapped open and they also glowed red for a few seconds and then faded again to the usual brown. The prone Jack's eyes then closed and he was then fast asleep once more.

Ana watched him for a moment and softly stroked his hair. Again, 'ghost Jack' felt his heart break. All he wanted to do was put his arms around her and tell her it was all right, that he understood. In honesty, Jack had no clue what was happening. He didn't know what that stone in Ana's hand was, why he would have been wearing it or why his eyes glowed bright red. What he did know though was that Ana was doing what she felt was the right thing so Jack trusted that. He wasn't even sure why he trusted Ana so completely, all he knew was that he did.

With a shout of anger, Ana threw the stone overboard. "He's not yours anymore! You hear me?" she roared to the sea and then, tears threatening to spill again, she took prone Jack's hand and crouched down beside him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him.

She got to her feet quickly and wiped her eyes. "Hurry, put him a longboat, we need to get him off now."

Gibbs nodded and a few minutes later, Jack was alone, lying in the boat having been lowered down by his own crew. Ana herself cut the ropes and watched as Jack slowly floated away from her.

"I hope he'll forgive me Mr Gibbs, he doesn't take kindly to mutineers does he?"

Gibbs put a hand on her shoulder. "Tis not mutiny miss, Jack will understand, you'll see."

'Ghost Jack', standing a few paces away, nodded in agreement. He gazed after the longboat that was carrying him away, straight into Morris' clutches. He closed his eyes, trying to banish the memories of the nights spent in that jail, particularly the last night..

His eyes snapped open again when he heard a strange noise and a tormented female scream. "Anamaria!" He gasped and turned to see her sitting on the deck, Gibbs and Cotton beside her. They all looked terrified and Jack followed their gaze to see what was scaring them so much. He saw in horror the same stone that he himself had been wearing laying on the deck a few feet away from them. The same stone he had watched Ana hurl into the sea a short while ago. It had appeared to fling itself back aboard the Pearl – of it's own accord.

In the next second, it began to glow red again. That was when the screaming began. Every member of Jack's crew were shouting and crying and trying to run away from the tiny stone, which was growing redder with each passing moment. Gibbs was grasping Ana's hand and she herself had her eyes tightly shut, hands covering her ears. Then she let out one tormented scream that made Jack's blood run cold – "JACK!"

'Ghost Jack' sprung forward reaching for Ana though he knew it was useless.

"Anamaria," he called and held out his hand to her. To his utter shock, she painfully looked up and stared straight at him. Her eyes then grew wider as she gazed at him, open mouthed.

"Jack?" she breathed, not believing her eyes.

Jack tried desperately to get closer to her but something unseen was holding him back. "Ana," he shouted to her, "reach out!"

She did so, holding her hand out to him, trying despairingly to touch him. Their fingertips met for a split second and then – there was a loud bang. Jack felt himself being forced back, away from the red haze now engulfing the Pearl, the crew and Anamaria. He fought with all he was worth. "No," he screamed, "not now!" The last thing he heard was Anamaria's anguished scream. He was going back.

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With a shout, Jack sat up. He was soaked in sweat and was trembling. His eyes quickly scanned the tiny room he was in. It eventually dawned on him that he was in a bed.

"Jack," came a concerned female voice. Jack turned towards it with a hopeful look on his face.

"Anamaria?" he whispered. Elizabeth looked at him.

"No Jack, its me. Do you remember where you are?" She looked worried.

Jack frowned so Elizabeth continued.

"Jack, you had some kind of fit and fell down. You were in a lot of pain and then you blacked out completely. We brought you to your room. You are on the Lady Anne, you're safe now."

At that moment, it all came back to Jack. He remembered the rescue and the escape from Port Mary. He looked up into the scared faces of Elizabeth and Will.

"I saw what happened," he told them. They looked at him in surprise. "I know what happened to my crew and how I ended up in that longboat."

Will stepped up to Jack's bed.

"What happened to them Jack, where are they now."

Jack turned and looked at him, torment in his brown eyes.

"They're all dead," he told the blacksmith, "and it's my fault."

He then turned away from Will and Elizabeth and closed his eyes.

Will, unsure what to do as he had never seen Jack this unhappy before, took an unsteady step towards his friend. "Leave him," Elizabeth said, grabbing her beloved's hand. "He needs to rest. He'll tell us when he is ready."

Will nodded and together, the two of them left the room. Once they had left, Jack gazed after them. Then he allowed one lone tear to slide down his face, which he wiped away quickly. He knew what he had to do. If Gibbs and Anamaria were still alive, he wouldn't rest until he found them. He would find them all.

TBC