A/N: Yay! I'm back! And with three new chapters written, and just waiting to be typed and posted! I'm so grateful for all your reviews—they are my inspiration. This chapter is a bit of a random plot twist, and I hope after reading it you won't all hate me and try to assassinate me. I'd like to live to continue this story.

Disclaimer: If only…

"Seen anything yet m'boy?" Jack asked the crewman who was steering the ship, and gazing out at the sun which reflected off the calm waters.

"Nothin' yet, Cap'n. A couple o' the deckhands thought they mighta seen a ship way out yonder, but me sir, I ain't seen nothin'," he answered.

Jack looked steadily at the open waters. He was glad to see that there was no haze over the horizon. As determined as he was to find the ship he had seen during the storm, he couldn't help but be slightly wary. Numerous encounters with unfriendly vessels had taken their toll on his nerves. He wasn't afraid, by any means, but he was beginning to find that he was concerning himself more and more with the safety of a certain woman on board.

The pirate had always sworn to himself that he would never let a woman distract him from his responsibilities—if they could be considered such. Unfortunately, however, he had known since the day he had rescued Elizabeth from almost certain death by drowning, that it would be nearly impossible to leave her behind without a second thought. The capture of her had been particularly interesting, and was in fact what had allowed the infamous captain to realize that Elizabeth Swan was not at all like any other woman of her type. Whilest he had her trapped behind a cold chain and held that pistol to her temple, she had still managed to find the character to snap at him. She hadn't been afraid of the prospect of death, and this had intrigued him. Of course, he wouldn't have killed her anyway. He had only killed one female in all his years of piracy—a girl of about fifteen—and he hadn't enjoyed doing so. But it had needed to be done. She would have died either way; he simply chose to do it the less painful way.

The appearance of a sail on the horizon snapped Jack out of his muse. He leapt up to the helm, ordering the crewman down and full speed toward the target. There was a great shuffle aboard the ship as the sails were adjusted to push the ship to a higher speed. Jack's kohl lined eyes squinted before he took out his telescope and peered through it. Gibbs appeared next to him a moment later.

"What's got ye so int'rested out there Cap'n?" he asked, handing Jack an oddly shaped bottle of golden tinged rum.

Snatching the rum, he replied, "A ship, mate," and then took a long swallow. "I seen 'er before, and I'd like t' know where." He paused, with wide eyes, and then continued. "I imagine it'll have been Tortuga, but one can never be sure out here in the Caribbean."

Gibbs nodded, and went back down to the main deck too help the other crewmembers. Jack continued on the ship's course, humming merrily to himself as he stood.

"…And really bad eggs."

His eyes scanned the deck, admiring the crew he had put together. Each one a faithful man in himself, loyal to Jack, and caring of the welfare of the ship and its occupants. He looked toward the forecastle deck, and spotted Elizabeth's unmistakable form standing at the railing of the ship. He frowned as his eyes raked over her figure, which was outfitted in a thin white dress; she was ridiculously beautiful. He was focused so intently upon her, that it took him a moment to realize she had turned and was yelling desperately at him. Jack blinked, and shook his head.

"The Lochinvar, Jack! Bloody hell, she's right on top of us!" Elizabeth screamed. Her voice reached him, and he immediately wrenched the Balinor to port.

"Let down the anchor men!" he shouted into the sudden panic. Grimacing, he closed his eyes as the form of the Lochinvar came at them almost head on. William Turner stood at the helm, looking just as alarmed as Jack. Somehow, the two ships had been set on a collision course, and neither had seen the other until it was too late. "Hold onto your bums, gentlemen," Jack roared, and moments later a tremendous cracking and splintering sound was heard as the two vessels collided.

Elizabeth was almost thrown overboard as the Balinor's prow impaled the portside of the Lochinvar. As it did, she saw Will be launched sideways and into the gaping wound in the Lochinvar's hull. The Balinor listed heavily to one side, and its nose dove a bit as a result of the other ship's mass. The Lochinvar, having already been damaged during battle, gave way and allowed the Balinor to pass through an enormous section of its side without much damage.

At his ship's tilted position, Jack Sparrow stumbled sideways until he fell, screaming loudly and waving his arms on the way down. The ship was almost past the point of its central gravity. He grabbed onto a pulley and clung to it for dear life, looking down at the churning waters below him.

"No, no! Not good! Not good! My ship, my beautiful ship! Not good!"

The Lochinvar's main mast suddenly snapped, falling onto the deck of the Balinor, and providing enough force to return the smaller ship to an upright position. The force also sent the Lochinvar sprawling onto its side, the sounds of cracking wood uncomfortably evident.

As the Balinor made its miraculous rebound, Jack caught sight of Will Turner, trapped and struggling to free himself from beneath the mast.

"Oh, really not good!" Jack cried to himself. His eyes darted around wildly, looking for something that might give him a chance to rescue Will. He saw not but a rope, which he could not reach. The forward mast of the Lochinvar was failing, and in the moment before it gave way, he heard a panicked female voice cry the boy's name.

The beam fractured, and in what seemed to be slow motion, the mast and all it held crashed onto William Turner.