This chapter is a short one….the next one will be longer :)

Chapter 7

The sun was still rising into the sky, covered with clouds which blocked most of its rays. Silence engulfed them as the Interceptor moved through the still water. At the helm of the ship stood Jack and Barbossa while Elizabeth and Gibbs stood on their either sides. The vastness of Beckett's army had already begun playing on their fears and the panic they felt was evident on the crew's faces. Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth's hand traveled down Jack's arm until their fingers touched and interlocked. Turning to gaze at one another, they gave reassuring glances before facing their enemy just as Beckett's ship anchored before them. Breaking away from her, Jack walked across the deck where Beckett had just boarded the Interceptor along with Davy Jones. As they waited side by side, another man eventually joined them, his face fixed on the deck and his eyes avoiding all who were staring at him. Stopping next to Jack, Elizabeth looked at the third man speechlessly.

"James? James Norrington?" she choked out, not understanding why he was dressed in full uniform and standing at Beckett's side. "You're alive?"

"Yes," the former Commodore expressed, finally looking at her.

"But how? I thought…," she began, but her smile quickly disappeared. "Why are you standing with him?"

Norrington stood in silence, trying his hardest to find the right words to explain to her why he was standing where he was.

"Did Becky gang-press you into joining his crew?" Jack asked with a smile.

Before Norrington was able to respond, Beckett stepped forward.

"It was your dear friend who stole the heart of Davy Jones and gave it to me," he explained as Elizabeth's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "So you see Jack, if it weren't for him, you would have never been slain."

Jack and Elizabeth's eyes immediately moved to James who refused to look at either. The three of them stood for a long moment in silence, unsure of what to say to the other before Elizabeth finally spoke up.

"Why?" she asked, her voice turning angrier. "Why?! What did he promise you that made you sell your soul to him?"

"My life," Norrington replied quietly, the guilt he carried evident in his eyes and his voice. "I got my life back."

"And to hell with anyone who may have gotten hurt in the process, right?" she snapped at him before shaking her head in disgust.

"Going from a rum-soaked pirate to Becky's right-hand man is definitely a step down," Jack commented. "I'm not rooting for you anymore, mate."

Norrington quickly looked away as Beckett smiled, his hands clasped behind his back as he stood in a gentlemanly manner. "I really would wish you'd stop calling me that, Jack."

"Calling you what? Becky?" Jack asked in return. "It has a certain ring to it that I can't possibly get enough of."

Sighing, the Lord glanced at Norrington before turning back to the pirates before him.

"Well, as heart-warming as this reunion has been, I think it's best that we get down to business," he stated.

"Alright Becky, state your terms," Jack said with a smile that Cutler Beckett returned.

Barbossa sighed and rolled his eyes between the two sworn enemies.

"Lay your weapons down and surrender," Beckett began. "Do so and you will save the lives of all of your men."

"And if I do not?" Sparrow asked.

"Jack, look at my army. You can't beat us. Surrender not, and every one of you will die here today," he exclaimed before stepping closer to him. "Everyone will be arrested and hung…but your fate is much grimmer than that, Jack."

He then pointed to Davy Jones who returned a sinister smile before moving towards them.

"Do you fear death?" he asked in a coarse and low tone, one which sent a shill down Elizabeth's spine.

"Do you say nothing else?" Jack said and faced Beckett, causing Jones to frown at him. "I'm not going back to the Locker, mate. I promise you that."

"You can't beat us and yet you won't surrender," Beckett expressed. "Tell me Jack, what other choice do you have?"

"We'll fight," he replied.

"That's a fool's errand, Jack," Beckett stated with a laugh.

"Then I must be the biggest fool of us all," he said and smiled. "After all, who am I?"

Beckett and Jones stared at him confused for a moment before he sighed and rolled his eyes at them.

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he said, pointing to himself. "Now take your traitorous dog and that ugly, fish-face buffoon and get off of my ship."

"Your ship?" Beckett asked, the grin still planted on his face. "I thought you lost your ship, Jack."

"The Interceptor is my ship for the temporary moment until I get my real ship back," Jack corrected.

Nodding, Beckett motioned behind him. "Captain Turner?"

They all watched in surprise as Will suddenly emerged from Beckett's ship and boarded the Interceptor.

"Will?" Elizabeth asked, unsure of how to feel about seeing him again.

A part of her was relieved to see that he appeared to be unharmed, but another part of her couldn't forget that he had taken the Black Pearl.

"Thanks for stealing my ship," Jack expressed steadily, but Will ignored him.

"Elizabeth," he said and reached out for her, but she slowly pulled back.

"What's going on?" she asked, her brows furrowed.

"You have a safe passage off of this ship before the hostilities begin, Miss Swann," Beckett answered for Will.

"What do you mean?" she questioned quickly.

"Captain Turner agreed to tell us the location of Shipwreck Cove in return for his freedom, yours and his father's," Beckett stated plainly.

Elizabeth's eyes instantly moved to Will. "Is this true?"

"We can finally be together, Elizabeth," Will began. "You, me and my father can sail away from all of this together, right now."

Elizabeth shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. "What happened to you, Will? I don't even know you anymore."

"Elizabeth, this is our chance at happiness," he said and tried to reach for her, but she yanked her arm away.

"How could you lead them here?!" she demanded, her voice full of anguish. "How could you do that, Will? We're outnumbered and you led them here to slaughter everyone. How could you, Will?"

He tried to reach for her again, but she pushed him away from her.

"Don't touch me," she said in an icy tone.

"Elizabeth, please," Will pleaded with her, his own voice rising. "Come with me. Don't do this."

Before he was able to reach out for her once more, Jack stepped in and held him back.

"It's time for you to go, mate," he expressed.

"Get off of me!" Will snapped, pushing Jack back angrily. "This is all your fault. None of this would have happened if it weren't for you."

Jack stood in silence as Will continued to verbally abuse him.

"You'll never be good enough for her. You're a selfish, dishonest, good-for-nothing pirate who can't think of anything but himself and his next bottle of rum," Will declared before facing Elizabeth. "Take my hand."

Composing herself, she took a step forward and stopped before Will and Norrington.

"You've made your choice and chosen your side," she said in the same icy tone as earlier. "Get off of this ship."

Everyone watched her in silence as she stepped back and stood at Jack's side.

"I guess that means we fight," Beckett said, smiling as he turned and walked back onto his own ship, followed closely by Norrington who continued to stare at the deck.

"You're making a big mistake," Will stated firmly. "When Jones and Beckett kill Jack, and they will kill him, you'll realize the mistake that you made. He's nothing but a coward who'll leave you to save his own skin the second he gets a chance."

With that, he turned and reluctantly followed the others. Everyone watched in silence as the other ships raised their anchors and circled around them once before heading across the water, back to the rest of the fleet.

"This is my fault, isn't it?" Elizabeth asked, facing Jack.

The expression on her face held a mixture of torment, guilt and worry.

"I'm the reason Will is so angry and did what he did," she said.

"Stop blaming yourself," Jack exclaimed before he pulled her into a tight embrace.

They held one another for a long moment before she leaned back and kissed him. As he covered her back with his arms, the kiss became a private one. Finally drawing back to breathe, Elizabeth took the sides of his face in her hands.

"I need you to promise me something," she began, her voice firm and serious.

When he nodded at her, she continued.

"Promise me that you won't die," she said suddenly.

Smiling sadly, he tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Nothing is guaranteed luv," he expressed quietly.

"It almost killed me the first time Jack and I'm not even talking about the guilt," she said, placing her hand on his heart and gazing at it. "We weren't even together then. Now…."

He realized how upset she was and pulled her into another kiss. It was short, but held enough passion and emotion that made Elizabeth whimper quietly in his mouth.

"I promise," he whispered, leaning back and rubbing her arms in reassurance.

Smiling, she buried her face in his chest as he enveloped her in his arms once more. Finally leaning back, she smiled up at him, the worry never leaving her eyes.

"Don't forget," she said before leaving his side and walking towards Gibbs.

He watched her go with his brown, soulful eyes before turning to Barbossa, who had been watching them quietly from the side.

"Touching," the other Captain exclaimed sarcastically. "As much as I despise Beckett meself, the whelp was right about one thing. We can't beat them."

Nodding, Jack smiled and looked up at him. "Not unless we use our weapon."

Their eyes then moved until they landed on Tia Dalma who smiled from the other end of the deck. The smile remained on her face as the clouds above their heads began closing in on them.