Chapter Three

The house filled with smoke as the wood burned. Jack lay unconscious on the floor, pinned down by a rafter beam that had fallen and trapped him. He was awakened by a sandpaper tongue licking frantically at his face. He brushed at it and opened his eyes as a fit of coughing seized his body. Where the Hell was he, and why was it on fire! He looked at the cat -- a gray, striped tabby -- and asked him, "Where'd you come from, and where is everybody?" as though he expected the cat to answer him. The cat could only lick his face again.

Jack tried to rise, and that was when he found out he was held down by something he couldn't budge. The room was so thick with smoke that he couldn't see what was holding him down. "HELP!" he called. Just how the Hell had he got here! "WILL! WOLVERINE! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! HELP!"

It was then that his ears were assailed by the most Gods-awful noise he had ever heard. It was a harpsichord screeching that was soon outdone by a man screeching as well. "JAMES! JAMES!" he raised his voice and yelled for all he was worth, but the only sound he could hear was the licking of the flames on the wood and the words that floated to him from James, who he realized had finally lost it.

" I like my town with a little drop of poison.
Nobody knows they're lining up to go insane.
I'm all alone; I smoked my friends down to the filter.
But I'll feel much cleaner after it rains. "

Again, Jack yelled for James, knowing James could not possibly hear him and the words were reinforcing Jack's opinion that James had finally lost it. What the Hell did he mean he had smoked his friends down to the filter! When did James smoke? He'd never seen him!

"HELP!" he called again. His hand reached out and grabbed the cat. "Go get somebody! Find somebody, and help me get this thing off of me!" The cat licked Jack one last time and raced off. Jack hoped he was headed for help even as he heard James begin the next verse which was even worse than the first!

" He left in the Fall; that's his blood on the wall.
He always had that little drop of poison.
He left in the Fall; that's his blood on the wall.
He always had that little drop of poison. "


The cat raced down the hall, doing his best to sniff out any one else. He almost collided with a man sitting in the floor, holding his head in his hands, rocking, and moaning. The cat skirted past the man with a weird look on his face. The whole house was full of insane people except for the one he had just left laying under the beam! He had to get help! Where, in this burning house, would there be help! "MEOW! MEOW!" he wailed only to be answered by barking.

A dog? Well, that's better than nothing! the cat thought as he charged into the room and came to an abrupt halt as he found the barking coming from another cat. "You're barking! But you're a cat!"

"Ruff! That I am," Wolfie told him. "We've got to the get the cubs to safety!"

The tabby cat looked at the other cat in confusion. "No, we have to get the man out from under the beam!"

"What man?" Wolfie asked.

"The Captain!" the tabby told him.

Sebastian scuttled back to Wolfie from the door he'd been peeking out of. He could tell the two cats were lost as to what to do. "Listen to me, mon!" he told them, clicking his claws together to draw their attention further to him. The way the tabby looked at him disturbed him, and he pointed a claw directly at him. "But don't be lookin' at me like that, mon! You ain't gonna eat me!"

"I wouldn't want to eat you. I've just never seen a talking crab before!"

Sebastian let it go but made a mental note to himself to keep tabs on the tabby. "You two," he instructed, pointing at the cats, "get the cubs to safety. I'll get one of the two-leggers to get the beam off of Jack. None of us are strong enough."

The tabby began to head for the door. He didn't know where these cubs were, but he didn't want to be eaten by them if they came out and decided they were hungry. Just as he made the door, the cubs rolled out from under the bed. Holy crap! he thought. They're tigers! He streaked from the room with the tiger cubs right behind him, heading for the nearest exit. He figured he'd lead them off, then double back and get back to the man who he had now laid claim on.

Wolfie ran behind them, and Sebastian scuttled off to look for some one to help.


Jack lay still after having tried to squirm out from under the beam again to no avail and was considering putting his hands over his ears so that he wouldn't have to listen to Hook's words. Was the man totally insane! Whose blood was on the wall!


Delvira's black eyes flashed open in frustration. She had awakened to find the house burning all around her but had stayed laying on the floor and closed her eyes again. She had tried to use her sorcery to gain control of the fire, but the screeching voice of James Hook was keeping her from being able to concentrate. As she opened her eyes, James' voice was cut off by the sound of another piece of the house falling in. She shook her head, realizing it was too late to gain control of the fire in the house any way. She had to get out whoever was left and then try to stop the fire from spreading.

As James screeched again, she knew he had to be first on the agenda. "JAMES!" she bellowed as she began to make her way toward the sound of his mouth. Instead of answering her, he just kept singing.

" Did the devil make the world while God was sleeping?
Someone said you'll never get a wish from a bone.
Another wrong goodbye and a hundred sailors;
That deep blue sky is my home.
"

"YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT!" she yelled to him. "SATAN PROBABLY DID MAKE THE WORLD WHILE ZEUS WAS LAZING AROUND ON HIS BUTT, BUT YOU'VE GOTTA GET YOUR BUTT UP AND OUT OF HERE!"


That explains everything! Jack thought. The Devil made the world! That's why I can never get a firm grip on it! He heard some one screeching besides James, and he wasn't sure who it was. The only words that he could clearly make out as the person ran toward him was "The Book! I've got to get the Book!"

"Joxer?" Jack thought it was him, but the person ran by him so fast he didn't get a clear view of him. "JOXER!" he called hopefully, once again louder and then heard the person running as hard as he could up the stairs.


Sebastian was still scuttling through the flames as he tried desperately to find some one to help Jack. He could hear voices, but they seemed to be all around him. Then one suddenly ran past him. He turned to see where Joxer was going, and his mouth fell open as he saw him running up the stairs. "Where in the world are you going, mon!"

"The Devil made the world, and I've got to get the Book!" were the words that floated back down to Sebastian even as he heard a door open and slam closed above.

"Sebastian?" Jack called.

"I'm here, mon, trying to find somebody!"

"James is killing that harpsichord! Maybe you can get him to let go of it long enough to help me? I'm afraid that he and Joxer have gone over the deep end!"

Sebastian couldn't help the little bit of Zora's sarcasm that came out. "Ya think?"

"Did you know the Devil made the world?" Jack asked Sebastian.

"So Joxer was just screaming. Are you sure you're not joining them?"

"It makes perfect sense!" Jack told him. "That's why everything's always going to Hell in a handbasket, and no matter how hard you struggle, Hell is all you get!"

Sebastian shook his head. Yup, the Captain was going down, too! "Hang on, mon! I'll get help somewhere, I swear!" He scuttled on at an even quicker pace even as Delvira reached James.


"James?" Delvira spoke his name, but he did not even look at her. "James?" She reached out and shook him, but he only continued crying and singing.

" He left in the Fall; that's his blood on the wall.
He always had that little drop of poison.
He left in the Fall; that's his blood on the wall.
He always had that little drop of poison. "

"He's gone, but we're going to get him back!" Delvira answered even as she shook James harder. She continued to talk to him while shaking him, her hands gripping him so hard that her long, black fingernails cut into the fabric of his shirt. "You've got to listen to me, James! I know who took them! She won't kill them -- not yet! We have a chance to get them back, but not if we don't get out of here!"

James looked at Delvira as though he did not recognize her and continued on with his song.

" A rat always knows when he's in with weasels.
Here you lose a little every day.
I remember when a million was a million.
They all have ways to make you pay.
They all have ways to make you pay. "

"The rat is Helvira and you are going to get your shitt together," Delvira harshly informed him, "because we are going to rescue our men! That bitch isn't going to get away with this! We'll stop her, and I swear this time, I'll find a way to kill the whore!" Still, James did not appear to be paying any attention, but this time Delvira slapped him. When he did not at first respond, she began slapping him time and again and continued even after her hand began to sting.


Elvira was frantically trying to find her way through the fire while fighting to rein in her emotions even harder. She could hear the others talking and knew that Delvira would get James somehow, but Jack still needed help. "JACK!" she called through the fire and smoke. "JACK, WHERE ARE YOU!"

"OVER HERE! ON THE FLOOR! UNDER THE BEAM!" he told her. "I CAN'T GET OUT FROM UNDER IT!"

"KEEP TALKING," she called back. "I CAN'T SEE CRAP HERE!" She tried again to wave the smoke out of her face and was still trying when something collided with her foot. She fell to the floor and turned glaring black eyes to see a crab busily scuttling along his path. "Well, screw you too!"

"Not now, mon chere, but thanks!"

"Sebastian," Jack called, "help Elvira come to me! Elvira," Jack said in a very serious voice, "did you know the Devil made the world?"

Sebastian looked up at her. "He's gone over the deep end," he whispered. "He knows Zeus made the world! He's just delirious now!"

"Actually," Elvira replied, "that makes sense."

"I am so out of here!" Sebastian told her and went back to scuttling double-time in search of somebody who might have enough of a brain left to actually help Jack.

Elvira had already discovered that she could see better on the floor and began to crawl her way to Jack while commenting, "That definitely explains why a bitch like Helvira can get away with so much!"

"I knew that bitch would come sooner or later! I was hoping it'd be later, much, much later. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to kill her. I thought I'd killed her twice. I even took her heart the last time and sank it in the Bog of Eternal Stench, and yet here she is again! I don't know how she did this to us! We've got to get our people back! If she hurts one hair on Will's head, I'm gonna use the Book if that damn Joxer ever gets back down here with it!"

"She will," Elvira told Jack as he finally came into her vision which was now blurred by her tears. "She'll torture them, Jack. Gods, she's probably slowly killing Wolf right now!" She sobbed.

"We'll make it in time, Elvira, or we'll spill every single solitary drop of their blood into the ocean and feed their flesh to the sharks!"

Elvira shook her head even as she continued crawling toward Jack. "I knew it!" she admitted in a sob and shook her head. "I knew it! I'm no damn good! I knew the bitch was going to come and get Wolf and hurt him and kill him and I couldn't do a damn thing about it!" Her tears were now falling so swiftly that she could not see past them, but she felt around and, finding the board, began struggling to lift it.

Jack was seized by a fit of coughing. "Maybe together we can move the board? Stop blaming yourself. All the blame in the world won't do us any good now. I could blame myself for not being a good enough swordsman that I could've put her down for all time, and now she's got my entire family! Oh, that bitch is gonna pay!"

"Help me get out of here. Maybe, if you pull and I push, we might can get it off of me? I am glad Delvira got to James. I think he's cracking up totally. Between that damn boy driving him insane and losing Smee, it's probably more than he can take. On the count of three," he told her, "and we'll get your Wolf too. Paybacks can be a bitch, and I'm ready to do some paying back! One . . . Two . . . Three!" He pushed, praying that the board would move.

"You don't understand!" she told him even as she pulled the board the rest of the way off, her mouth running as she pulled. "None of you do! But Hell, how can you? I never even admitted to anybody but Wolf how inadequate I am, but damn it, Jack, you can have all the hope in the world, but I'm not going to do you or him or anybody any good!"

"I'm the reason why she took Wolf, too! Why she took him and why she's going to torture him until there's nothing left to torture! That's why I couldn't love him! I knew she was coming! I knew she'd get him like she did Mac!"

He reached out and squeezed her arm gently. "You mean you didn't want to love him, Elvira, but you do love him. You think you're to blame, but if she was only coming after your loved one, you might could blame yourself. That wouldn't explain why she took every one except for a few of us. Why didn't she take us? Every one of us in this house are to blame, so stop blaming just you!"

"I know she didn't take the others because of me, Jack! I'm not saying she did, but I also know what she's going to do to Wolf because of me!"

"Try not to think on it, Elvira. I'm trying not to think of what they're going to do to the rest of them. If I thought for one minute I couldn't get there in time to make a difference or to pay them back for what they're going to do to them, I would have just laid under the timber and died!" He got slowly to his feet and drew her up with him. "We're going to get them back alive. I promise you that. All we have to do is get our Sorceresses back and they can heal them."

"If they're not already dead, Jack, and I can't even fight to help -- !"

"They won't kill them for a long time, not until we catch up with them. They'll want to kill them in front of us. They'll torture them, and I pray to the Gods that they're strong enough to hold together until we can get to them." He trembled at the thought that Helvira had his family.

She could feel his trembling and did not have the heart to tell him that Helvira hadn't waited to kill Mac. She had simply left his dead and mangled body in her bed.

"Elvira, you say you don't know how to fight. I may not be the best swordsman in the world, but I am a damn fine one. I will be more than happy to teach you how to fight. First we have to get out of here, and then we have to get a ship!"


Xena woke up with a jerk of her body. She jumped to her feet, and her hand went instantly to her sword. What had happened, and how had she ended up on the floor? She looked around and didn't see any one, but her nose instantly picked up the smell of fire.

She felt her way down the hall through the thick smoke, hoping to find some one and almost fell over Lex Luthor, who was still crumpled in the floor, rocking back and forth and crooning Clark's name. "Lex, we've got to get you out of here," Xena told him, firmly gripped his arm, and pulled him to his feet. "The house is on fire. We'll find Clark."

"Nobody's here but us! They're gone!" Lex cried.

"Where did they go?" Xena asked.

"Don't know!"

"We'll find them," Xena assured him even as she steered Lex toward the back door of the house. She could hear others following them but was not sure who it was.


Sean was curled up into a tight ball with his eyes still shut even though he was awake. He was trying to piece together what he thought he had heard and seen just seconds before being knocked out. He could have sworn he'd heard his beloved Emma's voice, but that couldn't be. She had been dead for centuries, and he had never loved another woman or even looked at one after her! None could hold a candle to her, and he knew it had to be his imagination for if she had been alive, he would have felt it in his heart!

Smoke reached his nose, but he continued to lay. He didn't care if he lived or died. It was then he heard scuttling on the floor, and he opened his eyes to see Sebastian. "Save yeself, Sebastian! Get on out o' here! The house is on fire!" Sean told him.

"Not without you, mon!"

"Then we'd best be movin'," Sean told him and pulled himself up to stand on his feet. "Sebastian, I heard her. I knae it had tae be me imagination, but I heard her cryin' me name an' sobbin'!"

"You heard who, Sean?" Sebastian tried to remember back to all that he had seen as he'd dared to peer out from underneath the bed.

"Me Em!" Sean told his friend. "The love o' me life, but I knae she's dead! She's been dead fer centuries! How could I have heard her? Am I losin' me mind?"

Sebastian suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as he remembered the woman who'd fallen to her knees, crying and sobbing, and recalled the names she'd called. "Sean," he asked gravely, "what did your Em look like?"

"Oh, she was beautiful! Blonde hair, blue eyes, an' she always wore white."

"I didn't see her eyes," Sebastian admitted, "but . . . Might she have also been calling names like . . . Like Penance or Catspaw? Maybe . . . Gaia? Everett? Clarice?"

"Aye, those were names o' our students. What did this woman look like?"

"She was crying those names, Sean," Sebastian told him gently, reaching out to reassuringly touch him with a closed claw, "and yours. She was blonde and wore a white, fur cape; white, leather boots; and another piece of . . . something. There wasn't much to it, so I'm not sure what to call it. And they did call her Emma."

"Could it be me Em?" Sean wondered.


Elvira was about to answer Jack when the fire around them suddenly started disappearing and she heard two new voices chanting in Latin. She looked at him with wide eyes. "That's not Helvira!"

"No. I'm not sure who that is," Jack told her. "Show yourselves!" he demanded.

The fire continued to go out, and sparks of light were soon revealed. They were coming from wands held by two men. One wore a pointed hat, robes, and spectacles shaped into crescent moons. He had a long, flowing beard and hair that was just as long if not longer. His companion was dressed completely in black, had pale skin, and slicked, black hair.

As the brunette continued to douse the fire with his wand, the white-haired man turned to Jack. "I am sorry it took us this long to be able to come, but there are ships already on the way." His voice rose, and he called out to answer another man's question, "And yes, Sean Cassidy, that was your Emma Frost."

Jack looked at what he now assumed was the Wizard that had sent him the message about being his guest at lunch. He wondered where the one in the wheelchair was and who the new one was. "Who are you," Jack asked, "and where's the one in the wheelchair?"

"Who are ye," Sean asked, walking over with Sebastian to join the small group, "an' how can it be that me Emma is alive?"

"Sean," Albus turned to look at the man he had not seen face to face in a very long time, "I'm sorry I had to turn against you, but if I had not, I would have been unable to save as much as I did. I . . . I'm Albus."

"Albus! Ye di nae look anythin' like the Albus I knae, an' ye did nae answer me question about Em!"

"Yes, Sean. I am the Albus you knew. Professor Albus Dumbledore," he clarified, glancing back at Jack. "This is my good friend, Severus Snape. The one in the wheelchair is Professor Charles Xavier, and he is currently with some . . . mutual friends of ours -- Kyna Chan and Spike."

"So they're the ship that's on the way?" Jack asked. He had not seen them in a long time.

"But I thought you said ships?" Elvira queried.

"Yes, I did," Albus agreed. "Destiny's Ghost -- Captain Chan's ship -- and . . . I believe they call it The Frolicking Monkey. It's sailing with Destiny at the moment and is captained by a . . . a Kathleen O'Hara. I believe you know her as well, Captain Sparrow?"

"I guess you could say that," Jack said. "I know her boyfriend better than I know her though. Ace is coming here? Well, I'll be damned! He's crazy enough to help me take over the world!"

"As long as he does not talk with his rear," Albus commented with an odd expression on his face.

That comment nearly broke Snape's concentration. He coughed hard and forced himself to continue rather than ask the question on Elvira's black lips. "He talks with his ass!"

Albus nodded but did not go into any detail. Instead, he returned his attention to Sean. He wanted to put a hand on his old friend's shoulder but knew better for they had not parted as friends. "Emma's sentence, Sean, was similar to yours only with . . . with an added detail that was far worse. She saw you and your students die; you saw her and your students die. She was also . . . " He pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze in shame. "She was also given to the Sorceress of the Saucy Wench."

"And you just stood there and let it happen, Albus! How could ye di that! I thought ye were our friend!"

"I had to allow some of it. I didn't have much choice. If I had not gone with some of it . . . " He sighed and had to force himself to continue. Snape, having put out the rest of the fire, actually dared to touch his shoulder in a comforting embrace, but Albus shook it off. "If I had not agreed with them on some of it and appeared to be on their side, Salem would have been killed and you would have been put in the control of your brother. It has taken us a long time to have a chance to fix it, but that's why we made sure that you were all pointed together and to this island."

"What does this island have to do with it?" Jack asked. "I bought this island off a Pirate for a wedding present for Will."

"You bought it, Captain Sparrow," Albus corrected, looking back at him, "off of a Governor who was playing the role of a Pirate as a favor to Charles for a gift to two who would never be married."

"So you two worked all this out just to get us on this island? And what about all of my family being kidnapped? Did you work that out too!" Jack spat at him.

Snape started to move forward, but Albus stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest. "We did not plan for this to happen, but we could not move any faster than we could. I admit that the Giants were a test. We had nothing to do with the raptors, the mermaids, or this, however. We have done all we can for you and your people along the way, Jack. We were the ones who gave Elizabeth the means to save those who fell prey to the new spring of flowers. We meant for you to come into contact with the Saucy Wench but never both ships, Helvira, Judson, or this entire mess. In fact . . . " He sighed, knowing the next tidbit he had to tell him -- a tidbit Charles had picked up off of a couple of Callisto's women. "This was planned out by an angry Goddess."

"And did you happen to catch the name of the Goddess?" Xena asked. She and Lex had joined the group but had not spoken until now.

"Discord," Albus replied. "It seems that your current unions with the ones you love were all fixed up by Aphrodite, but Her happiness over Her present to Gabrielle and you, Xena, ticked Discord off to the point that she laid out an elaborate plan. The Gods can not interfere directly, but They can talk mortals -- well, any one down here on Earth -- into doing what They'd like for Them to do. They have a lot of the same restrictions in dealings that Charles and I do. We had to wait until it was over with to help you, because the Council would have paid too close attention to it otherwise. We have to stay undercover if we are to save . . . to save who we can from the old group."

"When will the ships be here?" Jack asked.

"Charles will contact me the minute he sees the shore. In the mean time, you . . . " He sighed. "I was going to talk with you alone, Jack, but with all that's happened, I think it best I talk to rather most of you."

Xena shook her head. "I can't believe all this has happened just because Aphrodite gave a gift to Gabrielle and me! I can't wait to get my hands on Discord!"

"I think, my dear, that you perhaps should be more concerned with Callisto at this point in time."

"Callisto! That bitch! Is she the one who has my Gabby! I'll make her pay!"

"There are several some of you would recognize in that group. Callisto is still the Captain of the Saucy Wench, and Helvira is with them. So is," he looked at both Jack and Lex, "the Priest from Faith's past, Anamaria," he looked at Jack, "Darla, Drusilla . . . " He sighed. "More names of evil . . . "

"Bitches?" Snape supplied.

Albus nodded. ". . . than I'd even like to think about. As I said before, we did plan on bringing you into contact with the Saucy Wench, but that was to be by telling you that Sean's Emma is cursed to be aboard that ship and letting you go after them, not them come after you."

Jack was taking it in, but he wasn't liking what he was hearing. "What did you want to talk to us about? What you've already told us, or is there some other little tidbit that you haven't decided to tell us about yet?"

"For starters, Pan wants Hook back."

James and Delvira had sauntered over to the group just in time to hear that Pan wanted Hook back. "Ain't no way in Hell I'm going back to Neverland! He can't reach me here, and I'm not going back of my own free will! I'm not crazy!" His face was still stinging from where Delvira had slapped him, but at least she had finally managed to get through to him.

Delvira, meanwhile, began to form a fireball. If they thought they were taking James back to Neverland -- Well, there'd just be a couple of roasted idiots for the raptors to snack on!

"Put it away, Delvira. I want to help James, your husband, Sean, Emma, and the rest. That's why we've done all this. Pan wants you back, Hook, but I want to see the day when you can all . . . " He looked imploringly at Jack and took a deep breath before concluding. " . . . be on the same ship, under the sail of a man who I believe the rest of the Council will accept with conditions."

"And who might that be?" James asked only to notice that Albus was staring holes in Jack.

"Why me?" Jack questioned.

"Because I have watched you for years, Captain Sparrow, and I have seen the way you care for your family. I also know the history between James and you, and to be quite honest with you, I hardly think there's another person who's in a powerful enough position who would even consider this. I hope you will, though, for your friends. I . . ."

"Here's the situation: If we can get you and enough of your people to equal those who need your help to agree for your lives and fates to be linked, Charles and I both believe that they will agree to lift the current curses. Minerva and I will probably stay the same age, but it is the others I am more concerned in helping. I am sick and tired of seeing all the terrible things that have befallen each of them, and I want it to stop. For that reason, Captain Sparrow, I hereby formally ask you to consider on not only the behalves of Charles Xavier and myself but also for the fates of Jareth, James Hook, Sean Cassidy, Emma Frost, Salem Saberhagen, and Smee, to stand up for them, to agree that if they should ever again dare to try to conquer the world, that you will share their punishments and that you will live for as long as they, in turn, live?" He knew he was asking a lot and had worked so hard to bring them to this point, but the next words out of Jack's mouth might condemn them all. He waited and prayed but dared not breathe.

James' mouth fell open. Sean just stared at Albus. Neither of them expected Jack to say that he'd be willing.

"I don't know," Jack began, "if I can do that. I am a Pirate, and as such, the Almighty Council is not apt to want to accept me. None of my people will be acceptable to your Almighty Council. They're going to want some one prim and proper. Right now, I'm not much. You call me Captain, but I don't even have a ship of any kind at present. What makes you think your Council will accept this?"

"Consider this," Albus told him. "Salem, who was the leader, was placed in the hands of two bits who share a brain." Snape tried not to laugh. "Sean managed to be freed from his would-be captor, who was his evil brother, by their agreement to place Emma in the hands of a Piratess instead. That Piratess is the Sorceress aboard the Saucy Wench. Jareth has been trapped in a labyrinth with no guard."

"Besides that, the Council runs by a majority vote. You already know where Charles and I will be voting, and we know the others well enough to pretty much know where their votes would go. Drell can be bought easily, and we have a . . . We have some one who will soon be on the Council. Had we had him then, things would have gone much more my way."

Snape could not hide his smile.

"I will not give you my answer," Jack told him, "until I have my family back safe. I have a feeling you can get me my own ship, and I want to ask you for it. I need a ship like some men need to breathe. My family needs a ship. It's the only thing I'm asking you for -- that and as much help as you can give me to rescue them -- and I have one other question for you."

Albus nodded. "We will do all we can. As I said, we have been up to this point, and we are behind you 100 -- for the time being. However, we can not do too much, because if we bring the Council's attention . . . " A deep sadness broke through to his eyes. "I . . . I have already come close to losing the person in my life who . . . who means as much to me, Jack, as your Will does to you. I need not ask to know what my penalty would be. I would lose her the rest of the way."

"As for the ship," he continued before any one could question him on Minerva, "I will . . . arrange for two ships to come by here after your family has been saved -- or, rather, I should say, I'll have Charles arrange it. Governor Summers will be on one of those ships. You have but to meet with him, and he will give you the other ship."

"My question to you, Albus, is why? Why now and not before?"

Albus sighed deeply. "It is a fair question, Captain Sparrow, but it is a difficult one to answer. Before, when the trial happened the first time, Charles was too blinded by his grief and hatred of the others. It was only after the trial that he saw what his votes had allowed to happen and finally realized that Salem was not responsible for the death of his only son. As for me . . . They . . . They had me. As I said before, I went against them where I dared, but my Minerva was on the line as was I. I should be a young man."

"They made you an old man!" Jack asked. "What did they do to your Minerva, and were you both involved with Salem's plans?"

"I was involved through Minerva but not directly. I would have been had I not been on the Council. Minerva . . . They made her old, as well, Jack, old and cold, unable to get . . ." He blushed and quickly coughed. "They also placed us in charge of the school and informed us that, should we ever dare to be together, we would lose each other. Had I went against them at the time, . . . We probably would have lost each other much like Sean and Emma."

"Then I will give you my answer after this is all over," Jack told him.

"You know, it sounds like you've really thought this out, Dumbledore," Delvira spoke up, "but there's one thing you didn't think about. We're cursed for centuries. Jack's a mortal."

"I did think of that, and should Captain Sparrow agree . . . " His eyes met Jack's. "I will give you the location of the Fountain of Youth."

"You mean it really exists!" Jack asked. "Looks like I've got a lot of talking to do to my people once they're safe!"

Albus nodded. "Indeed." He touched a hand to his head. "They are approaching the shoreline now."

"Then let's get down there and get aboard those ships!" Jack commanded. The group rushed off, their minds still boggling at all the information they had just learned.

To Be Continued . . .