Disclaimer: I don't own POTC. Chapter title is from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.

Author's note: I AM SO SORRY! I haven't updated because my laptop keeps overheating and shutting down so I have to get it fixed, and that's where all of my writing is. I am going to work so hard to finish this before July 7th, because Dead Man's Chest looks like it's gonna be so freakin' awesome that it just owns my story.

CHAPTER 35: Pro and Con

When she woke up, Jack was already dressing. She watched as he looked at himself in the mirror. His expression was so full of sadness that it nearly broke her heart.

"Jack?" she said gently, fluffing up her pillow a bit more. He spun around, putting his other arm into his shirt. "Jack…darling, what's wrong? You make me want to cry when you look like that."

He sat down on the bed next to her, moving her hair behind her ears. His eyes were actually sad, an emotion she'd never really seen in them before. "I should have never let you leave Port Celebros with me."

She pushed his arm away and sat up, moving the covers so that she could crawl out of bed. "Oh Jack, please," she said, reaching for her clothes. He handed her corset to her. "Stop-thank you. Stop trying to protect me," she said, slipping into her underthings. "If I wanted a man to protect me, I would have chosen William over you a long time ago."

Saying this made Jack feel a little better, because he knew deep down that it was true. Camille didn't like to be protected anymore; she had been protected her entire life. She liked having Jack by her side as an equal, not a domineering male. He smiled weakly.

"Now," she said, putting her shirt on and straightening out the covers. She resumed her place on the bed next to him. "Tell me about Long John's crutch. Why is it reacting with all of our Marks? And why is it giving you some sort of duel personality? Tell me everything, Jack."

Jack looked hesitant. "I can't exactly be sure why, but I imagine that somehow I was able to become a host to that thing. Did you notice how drastically my physical appearance changed?"

"A host? My God, are you saying that the crutch is able to control you? Jack, that's terrifying!" she said, clutching onto him.

"Well, not so much terrifying as painful. The Mark was prevalent all the time. I can still feel it burning into my flesh."

"It makes perfect sense, though. We need to release James from the brig," Camille suggested. "He's the one that knew about the crutch. He suggested that I look in your desk in the first place."

But Jack rolled his eyes. "I can't stand him, Camille. And Long John hates him even more than I do."

"What does Long John have to do with this?" she said as they stood up.

Jack just looked at her. "Don't you understand? It was Long John Silver who's trying to take over me. His soul somehow was able to reside in that crutch."

Camille's face grew pale. "So then he knows everything?"

Jack nodded. "Aye," he said gravely. "Everything that I know, he knows. And it does not work the other way around."

"Then we leave it here."

But he shook his head. "No, Camille. I know very little, but I do know this much. His soul is growing stronger. He needs a host. Anyone who touches that crutch will be the next. And with the ring, he can easily be reincarnated."

Camille gasped. "Oh my God," she said. "So what's going to happen when we get to Colombia?"

"I don't know, love. But I wouldn't get too excited about it if I were you."

She looked at him. "There has to be a way to defeat this and get rid of these rings. Perhaps the people of Aguadulce will be more familiar with this than we are." She put her hand on his cheek.

He sighed. Her touch gave him so much of his strength back. "Perhaps." He still felt a horrible sinking feeling inside.

Camille caught on and hugged him. "Don't. You always told me never to regret anything. I am more than capable of handling myself."

And so the plot thickened. Jack and Camille brought the crutch back aboard the Pearl, wrapped up so that it would not be touched. Jack was, in fact, aware of the two rings. And that meant that Long John Silver was, as well. So the group, plus James, who was released from the brig, decided to trade both of the rings back and forth between themselves as often as possible. That way, Jack wouldn't know who had the rings. Their plan seemed as if it was going to work out, but Long John was not so easily defeated, even if he was at the moment an inanimate object.