A/N: Starting from this chapter, this uses elements from my oneshot "Years By And By", which is basically Gibbs reflecting on Jack's bloodline. I've also been reading the young Jack Sparrow series by Rob Kidd, and may try to incorporate things from there too.

Chapter 2:

"I'd hardly call it late, William." Jack responded on instinct. Unfortunately, that didn't put him off to a good start. "It's only just past sunset."

"How do you know my name?" Will demanded, eyes narrowing at him in the darkness. "Who are you?"

The youth-not-youth cursed himself under his breath. "Er...I don't know how best to explain it, but...it's me."

"Your name, say it." It came out as an order.

Sensing danger on the horizon if he answered wrong, he obeyed. "Jack. Captain Jack Sparrow, that is."

"Prove it."

Jack hesitated, before remembering his compass. He held it up in his friend's view. "Remember this?"

"Is that the compass that doesn't point North?" The other man asked, reaching out to take it, which Jack let him. He watched him flip the lid open to study it.

"Aye. That's my compass alright. That proof enough for you? I can find Gibbs if it helps. Went off to find a tavern, he did."

"And if I choose to believe you? What do you want that brings you to Port Royal?" Will asked.

The young captain snorted in disbelief as he caught the compass his friend tossed at him, attaching the object to his belt once again. "What does it look like I want? I want the help of you and your wife, of course."

"How did you know Elizabeth and I were married?" The other man seemed more curious and confused than anything.

Jack lowered his voice, leaning closer. "I may have broken into Commodore Norrington's office back at the fort. It was the only way I could find you. You have to listen to me."

"I'm listening, but I'm not quite believing yet." Will admitted. "Give me tonight to think about it. Stop by tomorrow, before I leave the shop."

"And when do you leave to head off to said shop?"

"Six-thirty."

"I'll be around here then."

"Good night to you then."

Jack gave him a nod of farewell, watching as the blacksmith's horses and wagon faded into the darkness down the road. He sighed. Well, it certainly could've gone worse, eh? I hope he believes me.

He turned to head back the way he'd come, knowing he'd find Gibbs at some point or another. His shoulders sagged, the burden of not knowing what William was thinking wearing on him. His friend could easily decide that he didn't believe him. After all, from his point of view, he was just a strange kid claiming to be someone he'd sailed with. He had little chance of changing his mind if he decided not to believe him.

A low, animalistic growl from the trees lining the side of the road startled the captain from his troubled thoughts. His head snapped to look into the trees. He spotted what appeared to be several pairs of eyes staring at him from the shadows.

Wolves?

Jack didn't get time to confirm it before the pack of canines lunged at him. Off-guard, he didn't have enough time to draw either his pistol or sword. The span of the creature's jaw was horrifyingly incredible. Though it's top teeth fastened in his right shoulder, the lower set lodged themselves into the base of his neck. Blood began filling his throat quickly, a gurgled cry of surprise and pain escaping him.

His back slammed into the ground. He struggled but the large paws pinned down his legs. He tried to fight it off with one arm, whilst his other grabbed for his sword. The animal pulled its head back, snapping the sharp teeth on the arm instead. He cried out through gritted teeth, feeling his strength deplete rapidly. The beast didn't like the sound he made, scoring claws across his face. He gasped as he felt flesh tear.

The pirate's fingers finally found the hilt of his sword and he drew the weapon, plunging the blade into the attacking canine's torso. It whimpered, pulling back just long enough for him to get a few feet back and scramble to his feet. His own blood boiled over his lips and he spat out a mouthful of it so that he could breath. He counted the large animals- which were either a pack of rabid dogs or of misfit wolves- getting a total of seven. He drew his pistol, knowing that he'd need it.

"JACK!" Gibbs's voice came and he spared a glance to the older man, who was racing toward the scene, sword drawn. But he wasn't nearly close enough to do anything.

The youth-not-youth fired a shot into the heart of one of the canines as it lunged, watching it fall to the ground, not moving. He went to reload, only to discover that he'd not brought any spare shots. He put his pistol away, holding his sword tightly.

A second of the pack lunged and he swung out at it, crying out as an extra burst of pain tore through his injured shoulder. His free arm shot up to it. The creature pulled back just in time, snarling at him.

Three of the dogs lunged at him. Unable to defend from all three, his weapon was easily thrown from his grasp, he sent sprawling as well. He could feel claws rake across his body, feel teeth tear at his flesh. He couldn't hear anything over their growling and his own screaming. He couldn't see anything other than the blackness that consumed his vision.

Jack was being mauled alive. Not the death he'd expected.

He thought he faintly heard a horse neighing, someone shouting, and hooves pounding on the ground. He heard the growls turn to whimpers, felt the claws and teeth withdrawal. He could make out worried voices.

But the arms that lifted him to safety only brought his senses to a halt.

*X*

Jack moaned. All he could feel was excruciating pain. The abyss claimed him again.

More pain. More darkness.

Pain. No darkness.

He was in a room. He didn't know where, but it was safer than whereever he'd been before, even if he couldn't remember it at the moment. Vision blurry, his eyes travelled all he could see. He was met with the sight of a familiar young woman.

Elizabeth Turner.

She gave a small, sad smile as she noticed his unsteady dark eyes gazing at her. "Get some sleep, Jack."

"No." The young captain refused, his voice scarcely even a whisper.

He somehow mustered the strength to prop himself on his elbows, though his arms and shoulders protested greatly. He looked down on his scarred torso. Slash marks and teeth engravings were crossed all over it, many of them stitched. He was thinner, as if the flesh beneath his skin had been torn out. The shapes of several broken ribs made themselves known. He opened and closed his mouth several times, not sure what to make of it.

"You barely survived." She said, her voice a concerned murmur. "They didn't think you had even the smallest chance until last night."

He clenched and unclenched his right fist, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm. His voice was bitter. "I'm not gonna die being bloody sixteen, count on that." He calmed himself best he could before continuing. "Gibbs filled the two of you in then?"

Elizabeth nodded. "He did."

"What'd he tell you?" Jack asked, laying back again as the pain in his arms worsened. His arms crossed across his chest.

She hesitated, making it painfully obvious to him that she wasn't telling him the whole truth. "He said that you thought my books could help you figure out who did this to you. That you broke into the Commodore's office to figure out where Will and I lived."

A knowing smirk crossed his face. "But that's not all he told you."

"I don't know what you mean." She denied it.

The young pirate couldn't keep from laughing. "You're a horrible liar, really. Out with it, 'Lizabeth. What else did he tell you?"

The woman sighed, giving in. "He told us a bit about your childhood."

"Ah." He raised his eyebrows, unsurprised. "Shouldn't have put it past him, eh?"

"He said that if you told anyone, it'd probably be us." Elizabeth said, somewhat embarrassed for whatever reason.

"I'll give him that." Jack heaved himself up to lean against the headboard, gasping as pain shot through his body. "What I'd give for some rum right now…I really don't recommend getting eaten alive. How many days has it been now?"

"Four." She told him.

"Four days." He echoed. He changed the subject slightly. "What finally convinced William that it was me?"

*X*

Will, who happened to be walking past the room that Jack was in, overheard the conversation. He stopped in the doorway, looking in on the scene. A scarred, very much awake young man was sitting up best he could, trying to engage in casual conversation with the blacksmith's own wife. His eyes were alight with curiosity, which was a nicer sight than the pain and dazedness that the other man had last seen in them.

Elizabeth, who'd noticed him almost immediately, responded to the younger man by saying,"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Jack slowly turned to look at him. It was as if his head were being weighed down by something, but Will knew better- it was the pain that bugged his friend.

"Jack." The blacksmith gave a polite nod.

"Will." The youth-not-youth responded equally, though he failed to hide a trace of weariness.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Quite fine for being a half eaten man...er...boy?" He seemed genuinely confused on how to end the sentence. He cleared his throat to regain himself.

"Right, I'll leave the two of you to talk, while I look through those books of mine." Elizabeth interrupted, getting up to exit the room.

"Please find something." Jack begged, to the amusement of the woman's husband.

"I'll do my best to." She promised.

The governor's daughter exited the room, leaving Will with the teenage pirate. He took his wife's place, facing his young friend. He studied him for a moment as he waited for him to reask his question. He didn't.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you sooner." Will told him quietly.

"What changed your mind?" Jack asked, scratching at his bare chin.

"Gibbs." He answered. "When I reached you, he was fighting as if...he was desperate. And I knew he'd show no one that loyalty other than you. And after I drove off the wolves, he seemed quite distraught at the state you were in. I'd never seen anyone so worried about someone they didn't know. I knew then that it had to be you after all."

The young man looked thoughtful for a moment, before he finally said,"You're actually wrong."

"About what?" He raised an eyebrow at him.

"About Gibbs's loyalty." The pirate gave a half-hearted shrug. "His first loyalty is to my father. He looks after me for him, I reckon. His second loyalty is to me."

"Seems quite the same to me."

"Ah, well, let me tell you, mate: It's not."

"So you've said."

Jack fell silent, leaving Will to recall the night of the attack on his friend.

He'd just begun unsattling his horses when the first shout of pain reached his ears. He'd faintly recognized it as belonging to the boy he'd encountered a mere couple of minutes ago. It went silent. He hesitated, wondering if he should go take a look or not. Just as he'd decided not to, a blood-curling scream filled the quiet night air. It didn't sound like it'd stop anytime soon.

Horror filled him. He had to do something to help the boy, Jack or not.

He quickly untied the bar that held one of the horses to the cart and leapt onto its back, kicking the side of it with his heel. It burst forward and he rode it back onto the road at a gallop. He could see Elizabeth emerging from the safety of the house, her skin pale and eyes wide. The screaming grew louder as he neared, as did the sound of snarling. He instantly knew what was wrong.

One of the several wolf packs near the town had attacked the boy.

He'd been alone, presenting himself as the perfect prey to them.

Knowing this, Will willed the horse to go faster. He could feel the wind whipping through his hair as they sped down the path toward the scene of the attack. He saw the form of another person struggling to free the boy. Closing in quickly, he had to pull his horse to a halt. He leaned back heavily, and as he'd taught the horse, it reared up, forelegs kicking wildly at the wolves. A mighty hoof struck one of them on the head and the others whimpered, retreating back into the trees.

The other man stood over the boy. He had several scratches himself, from defending him. Will disembarked his horse, quickly calming it and leading it to the others by the halter. It followed willingly. He stopped next to the man, recognizing him. Gibbs!

The boy's cries had quieted to agonizing moans. He glanced down at him to check his condition. He wasn't surprised, but froze anyway at the sheer horror of the sight.

The boy- whom he'd concluded was indeed Jack- was hardly recognizable. Scratches covered his face, blood pouring quickly from them. His neck, limbs, and torso were similarly mutilated, his torso more so. Several parts of his stomach and ribcage had been torn open, revealing the meat that the wolves were after. Blood pooled from him, staining the dirt red.

The boy's eyes were struggling to stay open, though Will doubted he could even see anything through the sheer amount of pain he must've been feeling anyway.

"Jack, Cap'n- look at me." Gibbs demanded, eyes wide in panic. "Stay awake!"

"Gibbs, continue down the road to my house." Will said urgently. "I'll take him there on my horse and leave him in Elizabeth's care as I fetch the doctor."

"Do ye really think it's wise to move 'im?"

"It's either that or leave him here. Those wolves will return. We need to get him to safety. It's his only chance at survival."

The older man reluctantly nodded and started down the road.

The blacksmith carefully lifted the boy in his arms. The moans quickly came to a stop, the body in his arms falling limp. He put a hand to his neck to check for a pulse, relieved to find one. He laid the boy atop the horse and climbed on himself, drawing Jack's unconscious form close to himself. He gave the horse a kick and it set off at a gallop, back toward the house.

He got back faster than he'd left, quickly tying the horse's halter to a tree. He pulled the boy back into his arms, holding him close as he raced to meet Elizabeth at the door.

"What happened to him?" She'd gasped, looking rather ill at the sight.

"Wolves." Will answered quickly, pushing past her inside the house. He entered the spare room and laid his friend on the bed. "Elizabeth, watch over him while I fetch Dr. Porter. I fear that Jack's dying."

"Jack? Jack Sparrow?" Her jaw dropped.

He nodded vigorously. "Gibbs can explain. He's on his way here from where the attack was." He kissed her quickly, heading back out the door. "I'll be back."