Somewhere deep under the sea, a man was walking through a vast desert, a rope tied to his waist leading all the way back to a ship. The man, while walking, was getting nowhere.

"Bloody desert. Bloody heat. Bloody lack of water. BLOODY LACK OF RUM!"

Jack Sparrow was not a happy man at the moment. He was condemned to his own personal hell until the judgment. Davy Jones was enjoying his punishment a little too much! At least it was only a hundred years. And how long had it been since he had began pulling his precious Pearl towards the hope of water? He was guessing about five months.

Stopping his hard work, Jack untied the rope and walked around the Pearl to see how far he had gotten. Five months work had led him to gain about… ten feet. Groaning, he sat under the Pearl as it was the only bit of shade for miles. He closed his eyes to get a little bit of rest, but as always he just sat in the darkness of his own mind, the last images of Earth running through his mind. Elizabeth.

"Hey! You there!"

Jack's dark eyes snapped open, blinking against the sun before he managed to focus on a small figure walking towards him. "Am I hallucinating now?"

"Are you alive?" the figure called out before it bent over laughing at its own joke.

"A bloody joker, you are!" he snapped back, standing up to greet the figure.

When they were finally within a few feet of each other, Jack noticed that it was a woman. The young woman was wearing breeches down to her knees, boots up to the breeches, a corset on the outside of a thin white shirt, and a manner of many small trinkets. The hat on her head was much like Jack's, but much worse for wear as it had many rips and tears running through it. Her brown hair was tied back loosely, a few strands framing her very dark tanned face. Her most enchanting feature was her eyes. They were a stunning dark purple.

"Are you here to taunt me further? Has Davy Jones sent you to torture me by just looking at you?" Jack groaned, willing his hundred years to be up now if it had to be in the presence of Jones's minion.

"I was thinking much of the same for you, sir. I have been here but a half a year, and already I have been tortured by my memories and lack of company. How have you come to be here, as you seem to know Davy Jones more intimately than those I have passed?"

"Made a deal, fulfilled it, lost it, honored a woman, got locked up, died on me ship. What's your story?"

"Was on a ship, died, but wasn't really dead, ended up being put here until my betrothed saves me by his service to the devil."

"Any details you left out that I need to know?"

She pulled out a sword. "Would you happen to know how to fight with a sword?"

"Just what do I look like to you, eh?"

"A pirate."

"Aye! And what do pirates do?"

"Good. You will fight me then."

"Wrong. I will sit and wallow in pity before picking up the rope and once more try to drag the Pearl further towards where I hope is water."

She blinked before grinning wickedly. "Jack Sparrow."

"Captain," he corrected immediately. "And how would a… fine lady such as yourself come to the conclusion that I am such a famous, stunning, brave, handsome pirate?"

"The Pearl. The Black Pearl is captained by Jack Sparrow."

"Right you are! Now that you know me, may I have the pleasure of knowing you?" he ran his eyes over her figure before giving her a sexy grin, flashing some of his gold teeth.

"You may address me as Jessica."

"Jessica. Well would you do me the honor of staying with me until my hundred years is up?"

"I do believe you would be sick of me very soon, Captain," she chuckled, finally sheathing her sword. "I will stay if you promise to spar with me occasionally."

"I would be honored," he gave a mock bow. Once he was standing straight he looked around, glaring at the lack of shadows now offered by the Pearl. It was noon. "I suppose I should continue my quest for open water. If you would excuse me," he nodded to her, walking over to the rope and tying it around himself once more.

Jessica watched with a bit of humor while the man tried his hardest to move forward, his occasional grunts and curses making her smile grow some more. She cocked her head to the side, as though this angle would help her see some progress in the ships movement. It didn't help.

It took two hours for Jessica to do nothing as the man continued his hopeless activity. She was laying in the pressing heat when he walked over to her, his shadow offering a bit of relief from the sun. "Mmm," she groaned. "Don't move."

He plopped down next to her, panting slightly. "Why should I give you that which I cannot have, hmm? How would that help me?"

"You never know when an act of kindness will turn around and assist you, Captain Sparrow."

"We are slowly being drawn into the depths of hell. To what point and purpose would participating in any act of kindness benefit any of us?"

She opened her eyes a bit, a secretive smile appearing on her lips. "Ah, we all have our views of things. I just happen to look at things with a more… positive attitude."

"Unless you have rum, I see no reason to smile, love."

She pulled out a small flask and handed it to him. His dark eyes lit up with disbelief and pure joy.

"Where did you get this?"

"It's not rum, unfortunately. It is water, which is precious. Enjoy a sip or two, but if you take a gulp I will run you through then leave you all alone."

Jack did as she said, enjoying the water that slid down his parched throat. How long had it been since he had anything to drink or eat? Just before he got here?

She took the flask back and hid it once more on her person. "I take it you haven't left your ship to find water or food?"

"I thought it would be pointless. Then what would I have left? Nothing. The Pearl is all that keeps me going."

"It's just a ship," she sat up, looking at the wasted beauty lying in the sand.

"Just a ship? She's the best ship to travel the seven seas!" he snapped.

"She was the best ship," Jessica grinned wickedly, as though she enjoyed the torment she put the man through.

"Give me a couple of years and I will find water."

The young woman stood, slowly nodding. "And what do you plan to do when you find said water?"

He noticed the beginnings of an idea when he saw one. "I plan on finding my way back to the land of the living."

She chuckled, taking her hat off so she could scratch her head. "Aye. That's what I thought you'd say. How long have you been here?"

"A couple of months."

"You've made no progress," she teased again.

"Oh really? And here I thought I'd made it at least a hundred leagues," he mockingly responded.

"The heat can do that to a man. Or were you already like this?"

"Sticks and stones love," he winked, sitting back on his hands.

She paced a bit before nodding again. "Do you have any supplies on the ship?"

His eyes widened at her words. "I never thought to check!"

She gave him an annoyed look before marching up to the ship and looking for a way onto it.

"There is no easy way for a lady to get onto my ship," he called over.

She took the rope that he used to pull the ship and threw it onto the deck of the Pearl. She pulled hard and it fell back down to her. She repeated this until finally the rope resisted her pull. Checking the rope two more times, the young woman climbed the rope with skill.

"Do you see anything?" Jack stood quickly, stumbling over to the ship.

"Give me a few moments," she called back, disappearing from the deck.

Jack carefully listened for any clue as to where she was in his ship. Finally she appeared on deck once more, a stale loaf of bread and a small keg under her arm. "What's in the keg?"

"I have yet to find out," she called back calmly. "Now, if you would kindly catch these items, I will climb back down."

Once he had his hand on the keg, he opened the mouth of it and inhaled the rum. He moaned in appreciation before taking a large gulp.

"Easy on the rum!" the woman growled at him as she landed in the sand only feet away from him. "Don't waste it all! There are only a few more kegs lying around and we have a hundred years to drink it."

"We?" his eyes snapped over to her. "I don't believe that I should let a woman like yourself drink. I should… partake of the evils myself."

"There is a reason I am here, Sparrow. Now, don't waste the rum. I will be back in a while."

Jack quickly stepped in front of her. "What? Where are you going?"

"Missing me already? I'm flattered," she grinned.

"You wouldn't be planning on leaving me all on me onesies, would you?"

"No, of course not. You have the Pearl."

His eyes narrowed and he studied her carefully. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know yet."

"Let me come with you."

"And leave the Pearl? No!"

"What? Weren't you saying it was useless to drag her around everywhere?"

"You don't seem to understand," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I am leaving to find a crew. When I get back we will help you get the Pearl to water, no matter how long it takes. Then we will all try and get back to real land. Savvy?"

"I don't see why I need to stay here all on me onesies," he pouted.

"If you leave, the ship will disappear and go somewhere else. I don't want to waste precious years searching for the damned ship."

"Ah," his eye twitched. "How long will you be?"

"Not too long. Maybe a year or two."

"Not… not too long?" his eyes widened. "Oh no you don't!" he grabbed her arm to make sure she couldn't leave.

"What's a few years when you are sailing to hell," she gave him a dark look filled with sick humor before turning, twisting out of his grip, and marching off into the empty horizon.

"You're crazy!" Jack called out after her. Quite suddenlyhe grinned and mumbled, "But at least I get the rum!"