Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, any of the fictional characters save for my own or any ideas that come from the movie. Please don't sue.

Kate was frowning. The ship that they could see from behind the rock looked nothing like what she believed the Flying Dutchman should look like. And the guilty look on Gibb's face was fueling her suspicions. As she made her way closer to where the three men she trusted most in her life, aside from her father, were, she could hear their conversation.

"That's the Flying Dutchman?" Will was scrunching his nose up at the sight of the pitiful boat. "She doesn't look like much."

"Neither do you," Jack told him, "Do not underestimate her." Jack gave Gibbs a glance and when he did not say anything, he elbowed him.

"Must've run afoul of the reef," Gibbs swallowed nervously.

"So what's your plan then?" Jack turned from Gibbs to Will, catching the accusing glance on Kate's face as she stood between the two.

"I row over, search the ship until I find your bloody key."

"And if there are crewmen?"

"I cut down anyone in my path."

"I like it," Jack smirked, "Simple, easy to remember."

As Kate opened her mouth to voice her opinion, Ragetti spoke up from the side, "Your chariot awaits you, sire!" he broke off into laughter. Kate's eyes narrowed even more as Jack began to speak again, "Hey! If you do so happen to get captured, just say Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt. Might save your life!"

Will nodded and Ragetti wished him a good trip. As soon as Will was rowing away, Jack commanded the crew to douse the lamps.

Kate was walking after him and he kept up enough speed to leave her a few feet behind him.

"Jack!" she cried out. He turned around and put his good hand over her mouth, "Shh," he whispered before removing his hand.

"That is not the Flying Dutchman," she accused him, "What are you doing to Will?"

As Jack opened his mouth to speak, a rumbling noise filled his ears. How long had he been avoiding Kate and walking in circles on deck to lose her? As he glanced over at the shipwreck he realized that it must have been long enough as the real Flying Dutchman rose out of the water, close to the wreck.

"That's the Flying Dutchman," Kate breathed out, eyes wide. She turned back to Jack and began to hit him with her small fists, "You bastard! After everything we've all been through together – everything you and I have been through…you've sent my best friend to his death! For your own selfish needs and desires!" she was still hitting at him, but he remained still before casting a look off to Ragetti. He nodded and made his way over to the two.

He grabbed Kate from behind, one arm around her waist and one hand on her mouth as he dragged the girl away from his Captain. She was screaming, though Ragetti's hand muffled the noise. Jack couldn't help but feel a twinge of anger at the sight of Ragetti's arm around her waist, but he knew it was to protect them from being discovered.

"Yes," Jack whispered, "I tricked dear William, but do you really underestimate your friend as much to determine for yourself that he's going to his death?"

Jack turned to look back at the wreck and Gibbs handed him his spyglass. As he peered over, he jumped back, seeing that Davy Jones was glancing over at him. As he dropped the spyglass and turned around, Jones was directly behind him and Cotton, as well as Gibbs, had knives to their throats from the fishy crew of Davy Jones. Ragetti was still holding Kate, but a member had a sword pointed at the two of them and Jack could see her eyes wider than they'd ever been before. The lass could handle skeleton pirates, but not fish people?

"Oh," he whispered.

"You have a debt to pay," Davy Jones spoke up, "You've been Captain of the Pearl for thirteen years…that was our agreement."

"Technically," Jack raised a finger, "I was only captain for two years, and then I was viciously mutinied upon."

"Then you were a poor captain, but a captain nonetheless! Have you not introduced yourself all these years as Captain Jack Sparrow?" Kate could nearly see the part of Jones' face where his eyebrow should be, rise up.

"You have my payment. One soul to serve on your ship is already over there."

Kate frowned for a moment before her eyes widened. Unfortunately, Ragetti's hand was still over her mouth so when she tried to shout out in protest, it came as a muffled cry.

Jones glanced at her before looking back at Jack, the 'eyebrow' still raised. "One soul is not equal to another," he told Jack.

Kate nodded quickly; trying to voice her opinion past her pirate friend's dirty hand.

"Aha!" Jack cried out, ignoring Kate. "So we've established my proposal in sound in principal. Now we're just haggling over price."

"Price?" Davy Jones scoffed.

"Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?"

Jones contemplated it for a moment. "One hundred souls. Three days-uh."

Jack grinned at the fish man, "You're a diamond, mate. Send me back the boy, I'll get started right off."

Kate's eyes widened with delight that he was trying to get Will back as another fish person stopped Jack from leaving. "I keep the boy," Jones spoke, causing Jack to turn back to face him. Kate's face fell. "A good…faith payment. That leaves you only ninety-nine more souls to go." Jones began to laugh wickedly.

"No!" Kate cried out, elbowing Ragetti in the stomach at the same time that she bit his hand. He howled in pain, stepping backwards from the petite girl as she shoved the fish with a sword out of her way and stepped up to Jones.

"William is not Jack's to give away!" she screamed out. "He is a human being," she was panting from the volume of her voice, "Which is something one cannot say for you."

Both of Jones' fishbrows (as she was now calling what should be his eyebrows) were raised at this. Jack was squeezing his fists so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"Missy…do ye know who I am?"

"A bullying squid," she spoke confidentially. "William is my friend and has no relation to Jack whatsoever. Please, don't take him."

Jack stepped in front of the girl, arms outstretched, "Don't listen to the lass. She's been out in the sun too long, fair little thing isn't used to such heat," he was rambling on. She glared daggers at the back of his head as he continued, "Have you not met Will Turner? He's noble, heroic, terrific soprano. Worth at least four, maybe three and a half."

"Jack!" she cried out from behind him, but went unnoticed once more.

"And did I happen to mention…he's in love. With a girl," Kate snorted at this, "Due to be married as it were. Betrothed. Dividing him from her and her from him…would only be half as cruel as actually allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony. Aye?"

She could see the clear disgust and anger on Jones' face as he processed Jack's request. Kate understood. He had been in love and it had ended terribly. The man was cursed because of it. So Jack bringing up Will and Elizabeth together, made Jones think of a fate worse than a lifetime of servitude. Being married. Kate could almost grin.

"I keep the boy," he finally snapped. "Ninety-nine souls-uh. But I wonder, Sparrow, can you live with this? Can you condemn an innocent man – a friend-uh – to a lifetime of servitude in your name while you roam free? And while one of his friends-uh," he glanced over at Kate, "Will roam free with you, holding such a grudge?"

"Yep!" Jack grinned, "I'm good with it. Should we seal it in blood? I mean, uh, ink?"

Jones grabbed Jack's hand, making a squishy sound as his tentacles swirled around his hand.

"Uh," Jack made a disgusted face as slime dripped down his hand.

"Three days," Jones told him before repeating it again. He and his crew disappeared as Jack stared at the black spot on his hand. It was fading due to the slime on it.

"Oh, Mr. Gibbs," he called.

"Aye," Gibbs frowned as Jack wiped his slimy hand on his first mate. "Uh, I feel sullied and unusual," Jack muttered.

"And how do you intend to harvest these ninety-nine souls in three days?"

"Fortunately, he was mum as the condition in which these souls need be."

"Ah," Gibbs grinned, "Tortuga!"

"Tortuga," Jack grinned.

"Um, excuse me," a small voice pulled the two men from their thoughts. Jack winced, knowing what pain was going to come to him. In fact, as soon as he turned, a hand collided with his cheek.

"Love," he tried to explain. He was smacked again instantly. "Love! I thought you were going to be the one woman to not do that."

"And I thought we were beyond you using William as a bargaining chip!"

Jack grinned coyly at the young girl, "Does this anger come from a lack of faith in William, or in me?"

She could almost gasp at how William had said the same thing to her father the day they had set out to find Jack. "When I was going to use Will as a bargaining chip, did I or did I not have a plan?"

"I-"

"And did young William or did he not, catch on to said plan and play his role beautifully? Love, it's going to all work out. Will is going to get the key, we will find the chest, we'll meet up and all live happily ever after. However we are going to have to fashion some sorts of a crew for Davy Jones to buy us more time to find said chest. So, will ye have every faith in yer dear ol' Cap'n Jack and sail once more into the perils of the sea? Or do ye want us to drop ye off at home?"

She frowned, "I'll sail with you, Jack."

"Good, because in all honesty, you had no choice…Port Royal's too bloody far," he swayed off.

"Jack!"

When they finally made it to Tortuga, Kate stuck by her Captain's side. He was playing with his compass as she listened to Gibbs pose questions to the men who were signing up to 'crew the Black Pearl'. She knew just as well as the brilliant man who'd planned this venture that those men would be doing no such thing.

"I know what I want," Jack muttered to his compass. The needle spun around uselessly. Kate frowned at his disappointment, "Would you mind if I tried?"

His eyes lit up, he hadn't thought of that! He placed the box in her hand, "Chest of Davy Jones," he instructed her. "It'll save William!"

She took a shaky breath before closing her eyes; I want to find the chest of Davy Jones. Her eyes popped open.

At first, the needle pointed at Jack and she frowned as he grinned sheepishly. The Chest of Davy Jones!

The needle spun to another direction and stayed still. Jack grinned. Brilliant! He looked at her, "I could bloody well kiss you."

"Well, what's stopping you, Captain?" she smirked, raising one of her eyebrows up. His grin only grew as he pulled her towards himself and planted a firm kiss on her mouth. She smiled up at him happily and he stood up, "You keep your eye on the compass, love. I'm going to check with Gibbs."

She watched him go over to his first mate, "She got the compass to work for her, Gibbs," she heard him state proudly, "How we going?"

"Including those four?" Gibbs nearly scoffed, "Four." There was another sailor in line and Gibbs sighed, "And what's your story?"

Kate glanced at the new sailor. There was something a bit off about him, she noticed as she stood up. She turned to face the wall and she put the compass down her shirt, inside her cleavage, where her corset kept it safe. She moved over towards Gibbs.

"My story…it's exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind," that voice was so familiar. Where had she heard it before?

"Where will you go?" her own voice filled her head. She could almost see the sunset begin over the sea from the beach on Port Royal.

"Tortuga," he had snorted.

She gasped as James continued his story. "I chased a man across the Seven Seas. The pursuit cost me my crew, my commission, and my life."

"Commodore?" Gibbs asked, eyes wide.

"No, not anymore, weren't you listening?" Kate could smell the alcohol on his breath from where she stood behind Gibbs. "I nearly had you all off Tripoli. I would have, if not for the…hurricane."

"Lord," Gibbs gasped, "You didn't try to sail through it?"

Kate frowned, knowing fully that James had tried and that he had lost all of his men.

"So do I make your crew or not? You haven't said where you're going? Somewhere nice?" he shouted out, banging on the table.

The music stopped and everyone stared over at them as Jack tried to sneak off, behind a branch.

"So am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow?" James was still going off. He spotted Jack and pointed a pistol at the branch, "Or should I just kill you now?"

Jack frowned, losing the branch, "You're hired!"

"Sorry. Old habits and all that," James smiled as he cocked his pistol.

"James, no!" Kate stepped out from behind Gibbs finally. James' face fell, "Kate? You…he came back for you, then?"

"Not exactly," she mumbled, "But James, please-"

Before she could get another word out, two of the new members of the Black Pearl were on Norrington, telling him to take it easy and that he was threatening their Captain. God bless them.

One of them deflected his pistol upwards as James pulled trigger. The bullet ricocheted off of the chandelier and broke a man's bottle as he drank from it. Then, that man punched the man next to him in the face, thinking he was responsible. The music started back up as a brawl ensued. Kate glanced around, wild eyed. A man was swinging from the chandelier, women were fighting and bottles were being thrown.

"Time to go?" Jack asked. If Kate could bet on it, she would have said that he sounded a bit disappointed that he had to miss the fun, but she fully agreed with Gibbs as he cried out an 'aye'.

They made their way through a few swordfights and as they went up the stairs Jack barely missed ducking a bottle as it smashed into the wall above his head. He traded hats a few times along the way and it was then that Kate realized Jack hadn't had his hat this whole time. He loved that hat, how could she have missed it?

He first took a hat off of a sailor leaning backwards on the balcony. He thanked him and clapped him on the shoulder, accidentally causing him to fall backwards off the balcony. He made an 'oops' face, but carried on. As they passed two men carrying another man towards the edge, Jack halted them, taking off the hat on his head and placing it on the man as he put that man's hat on. "Carry on!"

The two men threw the carried man off of the balcony and Kate followed Jack as he continued on his way. She could only shake her head and mutter the two words that came to mind during all of this. "Bloody pirates."