Just to be clear, if a phrase is "italicized and in quotes," it's in a foreign language.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of the characters mentioned here, excluding Kate and Inner Voice.

You have a debt to pay…

"No…no, please…"

You owe me yer soul…

"Don't do this…leave him alone, take me instead…"

And it's time to pay up…

"Please, no…take me…don't take him, take me…"

Summon the Kraken!

"NO!" I screamed, my eyes snapping open. Pain suddenly blinded me, and I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming again.

Kate! What happened? What's wrong?

I struggled to keep my breathing under control. "Nothing," I answered out loud, more to myself than Inner Voice. "Just a bad dream."

You wanna talk about it?

It's nothing to worry about! It was just…

Just what?

…it was about Davy Jones, okay? Davy Jones and…and the Kraken.

Oh…well, don't worry, Katie. Even on the off-chance that Jack does get eaten – (I groaned quietly) – we'd just go to World's End and get him, right?

…yeah, I guess…

Feeling a little better, I raised my head and took a look around. I was lying in a hammock with a tan-colored blanket placed over me. The room I was in was very large and appeared to be built out of dark brown wood. A very faint light shone down from the top of a narrow staircase. There were several cannons scattered around the room…which meant…a gun deck! I was on a ship! Feeling my newfound sailor's blood begin to heat up, I sat up quickly…but then promptly fell back as another stab of pain shot through me. I groaned again. "Ow."

I suddenly heard footsteps – probably more than one pair – coming from the staircase. Raising my head slightly, I saw Will run down the stairs, followed by another man. "Kate!" Will gasped, kneeling down beside the hammock. "Thank goodness you're awake." Will was no longer in his wedding outfit – instead, he wore a white shirt, a blue-gray coat, a dark brown vest (hidden by the coat), dark gray pants, and boots. His sword was hanging from his belt.

"We heard screaming!" the other man puffed. "Is everything alright?" He looked to be in his mid-forties, and was short and a little chubby. He wore a long, buttoned brown coat, tights, buckled shoes, and a white scarf around his neck. A tri-cornered hat covered his light gray hair, and wide rimmed spectacles were placed on his nose.

"Yeah," I answered, sitting up slowly and wincing from the resulting pain. "I just had a nightmare, nothing to be concerned about. Not to be rude, but, uh…who are you?"

The man's face flushed with embarrassment. "Ah, yes, of course. Where are my manners? I am Dr. Simon Tyler, the doctor aboard the EIS Dolphin…which you happen to be on," he added as an afterthought.

"Beckett allowed us to use this ship while we look for Jack," Will explained.

EIS…so Beckett was still keeping us under his control. "Kate Cooper," I said to the doctor. "Nice to meet y – AAAH!" I made the mistake of raising my arm to shake his hand, but the pain was even greater this time. I withdrew my arm and held it against me, whimpering. I vaguely noticed that my forearm was wrapped in clean white bandages.

Dr. Tyler cringed sympathetically. "Ah, yes, moving your arm may not be the best idea. You received quite the terrible burn. Until your skin is healed, I suggest you stay in bed – or hammock, as the case may be – and keep your arm motion to a minimum."

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied, feeling the pain began to ebb. What happened, anyway? I remember leaving the prison cell and going to Beckett's office…something clicked in my brain, and the memories came flooding back. "Beckett!" I snarled, expressing as much anger as I could without agitating my arm. "That sick bastard! He branded me!"

"Yes, he did," Will confirmed, making a face. "But why?"

"Because I wasn't willing to get the compass." I sighed softly. "It's more important than it seems. Why else would Beckett want it so much?"

"That's a good point…" Will agreed, but he looked confused.

Dr. Tyler cleared his throat. "Well, Miss Cooper, as long as you're awake, I think the time may be right to replace your bandages." He knelt down on the other side of my hammock and held out his hand. I hesitated, but held out my arm. "You may want to look away," he advised, beginning to undo the bandages. "Mr. Turner informed me of your previous experience with burns, and seeing this may bring up some bad memories."

I obediently looked away, and my eyes fell once again on Will's sword. "What happened to my –?"

Will pulled out my sword and rucksack from underneath the hammock. "I got them before getting on board the ship," he explained.

I smiled. "Thanks. Fine state I'd be in, only one good arm and no weapons." The dagger shifted in my boot, as if reminding me it was there.

Dr. Tyler suddenly gasped. "My word!"

I felt a cold pit of fear settle in my stomach. "What? What is it?"

"This…this wound is healing incredibly fast!" I glanced over at my arm. He was right – although the skin was an angry red color, the skin was already peeling. A clumsy "P" was etched into my skin, colored a pale red.

Dr. Tyler looked flabbergasted. "My goodness! Normally, a burn doesn't reach this stage of the healing process for at least another five days! And it's only been two! Remarkable!"

I blinked in amazement. Two days? Was I unconscious that whole time?

Yeah. I don't think it has to do with weakness or the pain – it was probably psychological trauma.

The doctor quickly composed himself. "Well, this is a surprise! Your arm may be well enough for you to go ashore tomorrow." He reached for a jar, opened it, and began spreading a sticky green substance on the burn. The pain was instantly soothed.

I felt myself smiling again. "Really?" A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Where is exactly is 'ashore?'"

Will cringed. "Erm…well, Kate, as you can imagine…I have no idea where Jack is, so I decided to sail to somewhere where he'd often been in the past, somewhere the people might know what happened to him…so…Tortuga," he said finally.

My blood ran cold. "Tortuga?" Memories of our last trip resurfaced, including a man spread out onto a tavern floor with a sword sticking out of chest…I suddenly felt sick.

"I already checked the town, though," Will said quickly. "Tomorrow we'll have a look around the docks and beaches, and in broad daylight."

I forced myself to calm down. "Okay…so, any luck?"

Will's face fell. "Not much…there are a thousand ideas about where Jack could be. One sailor said he was dead, another said he's in Singapore, another said he ran off to Madagascar –"

"With a Creole girl half his age and twice his height," I recited from the uncut script. "I seriously doubt it." I noticed that one of Will's cheeks had a dull bruise on it, and I smiled slyly. "And you met those two prostitutes from last year, too, didn't you?"

Will cringed again, rubbing his cheek. "They wanted me to give him a message." I laughed.

"There we are," Dr. Tyler cut in, standing up, and rubbing his hands together. He had finished spreading the green stuff on my burn and had wrapped my arm in a new set of bandages. "My suggestion is to stay in bed and lie as still as possible. I'll get one of the crewmen to bring some food, but afterwards you should rest, understand?"

"I understand. Thank you, Doctor," I answered. He nodded and climbed the stairs leading to the deck.

Will started to follow him, but stopped and looked back over his shoulder at me. "I don't understand. If you knew you were going to be branded, why did you still refuse?"

I gave him a long look. "It's hard to explain. All I'm saying now is that the compass could mean life or death for Jack, and I'm not handing it over to Beckett." I thought for a moment. "If Elizabeth's life was in danger, you'd want to save her, right?"

Will nodded determinedly. "You know I'd do anything to save Elizabeth."

"Well, I feel the same about Jack. I'd die before hurting him." I closed my eyes and shuddered, remembering my dream. If he stays on the Pearl, then I'll stay right beside him. I opened my eyes to see that Will had gone up the stairs. Feeling exhausted, I lay back on the hammock and closed my eyes. Right before I drifted off, a memory swam in my head…the doctors at the hospital saying my leg would take two weeks to heal, but I was walking again in just one…

The next morning found Will and I walking down the gangplank of the Dolphin, looking around the crowded docks of Tortuga. The burn had all but disappeared, leaving a ghostly white, P-shaped scar on my forearm. I could move arm freely, and I didn't feel any pain. Amazed with the healing process, Dr. Tyler had given the okay for me to get out of bed and accompany Will on the one condition that I kept the bandage on, just in case.

"Who do you think we should ask first?" Will asked quietly, scanning the workers.

I looked around, trying to find one face in particular. "Don't know…oh, wait, there we go!" I approached a dreadlocked African shrimper sitting on a crate, repairing a net. "Excuse me, sir! Would you happen to know anything about where we can find Captain Jack Sparrow?"

The shrimper thought for a moment. "Cannot say about Jack Sparrow," he answered finally, speaking with a slight accent, "but there's an island just south of the straits where I trade spice for…mmmm…delicious long pork. Cannot say about Jack, but you'll find a ship there. A ship with black sails."

I exchanged an excited glance with Will. "Do you think you could take us there? We'll make it worth your while." I removed my rucksack, rummaged around inside, and pulled out the handful of coins. Will retrieved some money from his pockets as well.

The shrimper looked at the coins thoughtfully, and then took them, nodding. We were on our way.

"Is that it?" Will asked, squinting out over the ocean.

I handed the spyglass back to the shrimper. "Oh, yeah. That's the Black Pearl alright."

The shrimper had taken us in his boat to a small island not far from Tortuga. Judging by the dense jungles and smoking volcano, this was indeed the Pelegostos' island. As if in confirmation, the Black Pearl was in plain sight of the little boat, run aground on the beach.

The shrimper pocketed the spyglass, "My brother will take you ashore," he told us, gesturing to a longboat ready to be lowered into the water. A bald African man in his twenties was already sitting inside, holding onto the oars. Will and I thanked the shrimper and got into the boat beside the man. Some crewmen lowered the boat into the water, and the man began rowing.

We were about halfway between the boat and the shore when the man sighed, put down the oars, and looked at us. Will frowned. "What's wrong? The beach is right there."

"C'est trop dangereux," the man replied, speaking French. Having taken French for six years, I was able to understand this as, "It's very dangerous."

Will, however, had no clue what this guy was saying. "What?"

"C'est trop dangereux, je vous l'avais dit." (I said, 'it's very dangerous.'")

Will shot me a blank look. I sighed. "He doesn't wanna get too close to the island. It's too dangerous." I turned to the man. "D'accord. Will et moi, nous nagerons a l'ile." The man nodded gratefully.

Will looked more lost than ever. "What?"

I looked at him exasperatedly. "We're swimming."

"Oh." We stood up and grabbed our effects, preparing to jump out of the boat.

"Bon voyage, monsieur et mademoiselle," the man said to us.

"Merci beaucoup," I replied. Taking a deep breath, I jumped out of the boat and into the water, hearing Will jump in as well.

Other than some slight pain in my injured arm, we made it to the island without any problems. In fact, I felt completely energized, as I always did after swimming. Will, however, looked pretty out of breath as he gazed up at the Pearl. I looked up as well, feeling the old exhilaration return. The Pearl was just as awe-inspiring as I remembered, minus the undead skeletons scurrying around. Certainly an improvement.

Amen.

"JACK!" Will called out, cupping his hands around his mouth. "JACK SPARROW! MARTY! COTTON!" No answer. "…anybody?"

"Forget it, Will, they're not there," I told him, squinting into the jungle to see if I could spot the Pelegostos. "They probably went this way…follow me." I led the way into the jungle.

We'd hadn't gone far before we heard a familiar squawk and the sound of flapping wings. Cotton's parrot landed on a broken tree branch, blinking at us quizzically.

"Ah! A familiar face!" Will said, grinning.

The parrot squawked. "Don't eat me!"

"Aw, shit," I groaned. The Pelegostos had already captured them.

Will frowned. "I'm not gonna eat you."

"DON'T EAT ME!"

"Remember, Will," I said softly, "the parrot speaks for Cotton."

"No! Don't eat me!" The parrot squawked again.

Will thought for a second, but then his eyes widened. "Why didn't the shrimper's brother want to row ashore?"

I smiled weakly. "Um, yeah…there's a bunch of cannibals on the island." I started walking deeper into the jungle.

"Cannibals?!" Will yelped. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?!"

"Do you wanna save your fiancée, or what?" I snapped. Will fell silent.

We kept walking until I found what I what I was looking for: a small, black flask hung over a tree branch. "Hey, Will!" I called out. "Look at this!"

Will approached the tree and held the flask in his hands. "Gibbs," he whispered. He noticed a string tied to the top and leading off into the forest. He pocketed the flask and slowly followed the string, unsheathing his sword to cut down some stray foliage. I followed behind, making sure to stat a good twenty steps behind him.

Will followed the string until its end, which was stuck between two tree branches. He pulled it out and stared at it, his brow furrowing in confusion.

I suddenly noticed that the tree trunk behind us looked an awful lot like a man. "Uh, Will?" I said quietly. "You might wanna move. Now!"

Before Will had time to reply, the cannibal pulled away from the tree and yelled. Startled, Will scrambled backwards. His foot got caught in a trap, and he flew into the air, hanging upside down from his foot.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Real smooth, Will."

The smile was wiped from my face as several more cannibals encircled us, all of them holding spears. I put my hand on my sword hilt, but it occurred to me that my sword might be left behind when we were dragged off. Will seemed to be doing the fighting for both of us; his sword swung around wildly as he dangled from the rope. It was just about the most pathetic thing I've seen in my life.

"Come on!" he shouted, swinging the sword faster. "Who wants it? I could do this all day!"

"Dude, just stop," I groaned, slapping my forehead. "You're embarrassing yourself. And me."

The Pelegostos eventually stopped fighting back and exchanged glances. One of the cannibals shrugged, raised a long wooden dart gun, and shot Will in the neck. Will's body convulsed, and then went limp. His sword fell to the ground.

The Pelegosto with the gun suddenly looked at me. He raised the gun to his lips, and my eyes widened. I cleared my throat. "Um…parley?"

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in the side of my neck, and I sank to the forest floor. Dammit…

When I came to, I had been taken to a less dense part of the jungle; I could easily see the sky. I was hanging from a long bamboo pole, with my wrists and ankles bound tightly to it. I lifted my head, feeling a little numb. The Pelegostos had taken us to their village, where scores of people milled about, watching me interestedly. I noticed with some difficulty that Will was tied up to another bamboo pole. The cannibals holding it were walking right behind my group, stepping off of a rickety-looking bridge.

The cannibals suddenly made a sharp turn, and the bamboo was swung around so I could see the front. Will's group did the same as the rest of the tribe gathered around. "Kali kali ten dadah!" one Pelegosto announced, raising his spear to the sky. I turned my head and gasped. The Pelegostos' attention was focused on a large throne made out of what seemed to be human bones. A brown and red blanket was propped over it, protecting the occupant from shade. And the person who was seated on the throne, wearing a feathered headdress and face paint that made him look like he had multiple pairs of eyes…

"Jack!" I gasped.

Jack opened his eyes and looked around, looking surprised. His eyes finally fell on me, and I felt myself grin widely. "Jack! I can't believe it's really you!" For the briefest moment, I thought I saw shock etched into Jack's face, but I blinked and he gave me a blank look suggesting he'd never seen me in his life. My smile slowly faded. "…Jack? Don't you remember me? It's Kate, remember? Kate Cooper." Jack didn't answer, but I saw him bite his bottom lip slightly.

Hello? Earth to Katie? He's gotta act like a chief, remember? Somehow, I don't think having a romantic relationship with your next meal is very chief-y.

I sighed. Point taken. "Sorry," I whispered, looking away.

I heard a soft groan to my left and awkwardly craned my neck towards the sound. Will had finally woken up and was blinking curiously at Jack. "…Jack? Jack Sparrow!" He started laughing in relief. "I can honestly say I'm glad to see you!"

Jack stood up, still with a blank look on his face, and strolled over to us. He poked Will in the shoulder a couple times, nodded once, and came over to me. I held my breath as Jack gave me a long look, hoping that I'd stay in control of the situation. Jack placed one hand on my left shoulder and slowly slid it down the length of my body to my ankle. I shuddered slightly, pressing my lips together tightly. I saw something flash in Jack's eyes before he turned away and walked over to the Pelegosto who had spoken.

Will suddenly looked less happy. "Jack? It's me – Will Turner!"

"He knows," I told him in a bored voice.

"Then why doesn't he say something?" Will hissed back.

"Cause he's the chief. The chief doesn't fraternize with the main course, or so I'm told." Will's face blanched.

"Basay ko?" Jack asked the Pelegosto.

The Pelegosto inclined his head. "Teen dadah. Eeseepis."

"Eeseepis," the rest of the tribe echoed, inclining their heads as well.

You following any o' this?

Nah. Hell, sometimes I barely understand English.

"Tell them to let us down!" Will called out, struggling against his bonds.

"He's not gonna say any thing, Will," I said in a frustrated voice.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Kele lum. Lum pikipiki. Lum eensy-weensy." He walked back over to Will's pole and knelt down by his (Will's) legs. "Lum saysay…eunuchy. Snip-snip." He made a scissor motion with his hand.

"Ooooooh, eunuchy," the tribe murmured in understanding. Jack straightened up and began walking back towards his throne.

Will spotted the compass hanging from Jack's belt. "Jack! The compass, that's all I need! Elizabeth is in danger! We were arrested for trying to help you! She faces the gallows!" Jack froze.

I sighed heavily. "Okay, Will, let me give it to you straight: about eighty percent of POTC fans all shriek 'yay' whenever you say that line, and the other twenty percent DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN!" A couple people in front scooted backwards.

Jack spun around and approached the cannibal again. "Saysay lum shupshup sha smarmy marmy shuku. Savvy?" The cannibal stared at him. "Maliki liki," Jack clarified, making a shooing motion.

The Pelegosto raised his spear into the air again. "Maliki liki!"

"Maliki liki!" The rest of the tribe shouted. The cannibals holding our poles began walking again, and Jack returned to his throne, but not before whispering, "Save me!" out of the corner of his mouth. I gave the slightest of nods.

"Jack, what did you tell them?" Will shouted as we were led away. "No! What about Elizabeth? JAAAAAACK!"

"FORGET IT! HE WON'T ANSWER!"

About twenty minutes later, Will and I had been placed in the cage holding Gibbs, Marty, Cotton, and some other crewmen, and were now dangling off of several vines hanging over at least a five-hundred-foot high cliff. The other cage was hanging about five feet away from us.

Gibbs grinned at me. "Good to have ye back, lass, although I wish it were under different circumstances."

"Nice to see you, too, Gibbs!" I answered cheerfully, struggling to get comfortable in what little space I had. "And don't worry; I've been through much worse than this."

"I don't doubt it," Gibbs replied. "One question, though; how is it that you ended up disappearing in the first place?"

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we went to our stations and made to shove off, but then we heard Jack yellin', and Marty over here saw this golden flash –" Marty nodded in confirmation. " – and when we turned around, you were gone. Like you'd vanished into thin air." His expression was both concerned and curious. "What happened?"

My hand jumped to my throat. "Ah…I'll tell you once we get out of this." And once I figure out an adequate explanation.

Gibbs shrugged. "Fair enough."

Will, who had been silent all this time, sighed heavily. "Why would he do this to us? If Jack is the chief –"

Gibbs nodded. "Aye, the Pelegostos made Jack their chief, but he only remains chief as long as he acts like a chief."

"So he had no choice," Will said, nodding thoughtfully. "He's a captive, then, as much as the rest of us."

"Actually, he's worse off," I corrected. "You see, with the Pelegostos…they kind of think Jack is…well, one of their gods."

And honestly, can you blame them?

Shh!

"But the thing is, they consider his human form a prison, so they're planning on…'releasing him.'" I made air quotes with my fingers.

Cotton got it first; he reached over, grabbed Gibbs' hand, and bit down on it. Gibbs yelped and pulled his hand away, glaring at Cotton. I nodded. "Yeah. Basically that."

Will's eyes widened, but he spoke calmly. "Where's the rest of the crew?"

Gibbs smiled wryly. "These cages we're in weren't built till after we got here." Will and I hurriedly withdrew our hands from the bars. The wind suddenly changed, and the sound of drums could be heard easily. "The feast is about to begin," Gibbs told us. "Jack's life will end…when the drums stop."

We were silent a moment. "Well," I said. "Then I'm not just gonna sit here."

"You have a plan?" Will asked.

I nodded. "Yes, but I warn you: we're going to need courage, patience, and really crappy circus music. Can you handle it?" The crew exchanged looks and nodded gamely. "Cool. Okay, here's the plan…"