Will stared in disbelief at the Flying Dutchman. I, too, studied it mockingly. "That's the Flying Dutchman?" I asked Jack incredulously.

"She doesn't look like much..." Will said.

Jack smiled and swayed, his arm around my waist. "Neither do you!" He said to Will. "Do not underestimate her."

Jack elbowed Gibbs, who was standing beside him. Gibbs choked and wheezed, "Must've run afoul of the reef!" I glanced at Jack suspiciously but stayed quiet.

Jack resumed his serious expression. "What's your plan, then?"

Will gestured at the Dutchman a bit impatiently. "I climb on board and search for your bloody key." I grinned a bit, I had never heard Will use the term 'bloody' before.

Jack nodded. "And if you meet someone?"

"I cut down anyone in my path." Will answered immediately.

I wasn't sure I was on board with this. There was a sense of forbidding in the air that meant: Jack-is-obviously-up-to-something-don't-trust-a-single-thing-that-comes-out-of-his-bloody-mouth.

"I like it!" Jack announced, jolting me out of my thoughts. He brushed the wet hair out of my eyes, it was raining heavily, and moved away, toward the little boat that Will would be rowing to the Dutchman. "Simple, easy to remember."

Will hopped down into the boat, and Jack leaned over the side. "If you get caught," He called, "Just say: Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt! Might save your life!"

I froze, glancing from Jack to Will. The latter had already started rowing and was a quarter of the way there already.

It was almost as if someone hit a play button on me. "Will!" I screamed. I ran to the side and waved at him, yelling his name. "Will, it's a trap, come back! Will!"

I was about to jump in when someone wrapped their arms around me. I recognized Jack's scent and fought frantically. "Jack you son of a perra! Let me go!"

He pulled me away casually and into our cabin. He dropped me, similar to the way he had so long ago on our previous adventure. "Stay and don't do anything stupid, please?" Jack asked kindly, pressing his hands together in a begging gesture and backing out the door.

"Jack Sparrow!" I scrambled up and stamped my foot as he slammed the door. "Argh!" I growled as I heard the lock click. I yelled a few more Spanish profanities before giving up.

I paced around for a bit, glowering, waiting for Davy Jones to show and make a mess of everything I had with Jack. After a few minutes I decided to raid his rum cabinet.

There was a false backing that he had installed that he thought I didn't know about, but hell, he kept coming up with the expensive rum and I wanted to know where he was getting them.

I popped out the wood and grabbed a bottle. As I did so, a few pieces of paper fluttered out and landed at my feet.

Kneeling down, I recognized Jack's rather nice, sort of blocky, penmanship immediately. I pocketed them to read later; I was too pissed at him at the moment.

After a few swigs, a shark-coral-seaweed-hybrid burst in and grabbed me. I screamed and the bottle shattered as I dropped it. I knew Davy Jones's crew was to be feared but, oh lord, they were scary. His hands were slimy and grabbed a bit too eagerly at my shirt.

I screamed again and ran outside, then screamed once more. They were everywhere, masses of peat moss and coral, there was a pufferfish dude and someone who's hair was composed of seaweed ad another who's chest was impaled by a ship's wheel.

In the center of all this was Davy Jones, his head a slimy, pale squid, his 'peg leg' a crab's foot, a claw for a hand, and clumped along his clothing were coral and seaweed arrangements. I couldn't scream anymore, I was too afraid, but I backed into a wall of his crew, panting.

Jack, who was standing before Davy Jones, lowered his spyglass, glancing at me. "Oh," He said.

"Ye've been captain of the Black Pearl for thirteen years!" Davy started forward, his steps sudden and firm. His crab leg clicked and his real foot thudded dramatically. "That was our agreement!"

"Technically I was only captain for two years, until I was viciously mutinied upon." Jack backed away, the worry evident on his face.

Davy Jones sneered. "Then ye were a poor captain, but a captain nonetheless!" He walked around Jack, his Scottish accent laced with sarcasm. "Have ye not introduced yourself all these years as Captain, Jack, Sparrow!" His crew guffawed heartily.

Jack bit his lip, summoning some courage. "You already have one soul to serve. He's already over there." He turned to Jones again, smiling almost apologetically.

Davy Jones stepped forward. "One soul is not equal to another!" His tentacles writhed and squirmed with unpleasant squelching noises. I would need a drink after this. Maybe several.

Jack swayed, grinning. "So we've established that our agreement is sound in principle, yet here we are haggling over price." He spoke rather quickly.

I glanced between the two of them. I loved Jack, even though I was mad as hell at him, I didn't want him to become a seaweed hybrid.

"Price?" Jones made a sort of pop noise.

Jack leaned forward, his smile snide. "Just 'ow many souls do you think mine is worth?"

Jones's nose twitched. "One hundred souls," He smiled evilly. "Three days."

"Excellent!" Jack said. "Just send over the boy and we'll get started." He turned away, holding his left hand.

"I keep the boy," Jones stated sharply. My body froze. "As a good faith payment!" He laughed with his crew. "That leaves you ninety nine more to go!"

Jack paused and turned to face him. "Have you met Will Turner? Definitely worth at least three and a half. Heroic, brave, excellent soprano...and did I mention...he's in love." He walked circles around Jones, watching the monster's expression carefully. "With a girl. Due to be betrothed." Davy Jones's face was one of great pain and sorrow. I felt a tiny pin prick of pity for the man in my stomach. "Dividing him from her an' her from him," Jack continued, "Would only be half as cruel as allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony."

I stepped forward, out of the slimy grip of a starfish dude. "Give us back Will, call off this deal you've got. I'll go."

Everyone turned to stare at me. Davy Jones's eyes narrowed. "I accept this offer. You may keep the boy, a woman will do us much pleasure!" His crew laughed and stared at me lustfully.

I swallowed. You've screamed enough and that was already extremely out of character for you. Say nothing.

Jack spoke up quickly and frantically. "I am captain here, I will make said choices, and I say no. Nope. You're staying with us, love."

I glared at him, and Davy turned back to Jack, back to their agreement, as if I had never spoke. "I keep the boy. But I wonder, Sparrow, can you live with this? Condemning an innocent man, a friend, to a lifetime of servitude while you roam free?" He asked mockingly. He was trying to get into Jack's head.

Jack hesitated briefly before grinning. "Yep, I'm good with it! Shall we seal it in blood, erm," He glanced down at Jones's left hand, which was composed of tentacles. "Ink?"

Jones reached out suddenly and took Jack's left hand. Jack gasped and tried to pull away, squirming. Jones released his hand, the Black Spot gone. Jack's hand, however, was covered in an unpleasant amount of goo.

Davy Jones stared at him for a moment, then turned to walk to the railing. He gave me a look on his way. "Too bad," He told me, "Would've been fun..."

My jaw dropped and I gave him a disgusted look. He laughed and suddenly, wasn't there. His whole crew disappeared, just like that. When I looked out over the water, so was his ship.

I spun around to face Jack. He was talking to Mr. Gibbs. "I feel..." He murmured, "Sullied and unusual." He was pale, and staring at his palm.

"As you should," Gibbs agreed.

"Fortunately, Jones was mum to the condition in which these souls need be." Jack stated, wiping his slimy hand off on Gibbs's vest. Gibbs frowned and looked annoyed but didn't mention it.

"Tortuga?" He guessed.

Jack smirked slightly. "Tortuga."

I walked forward and slapped him.

The snap noise resonated about the deck and Jack looked dazed. He held his cheek and glared at me. "Why did I deserve that one?"

I slapped him again, so angry I could hardly speak. "You sold Will's soul, you heartless son of a bitch!" I yelled. "And then you sold ninety nine more!"

He winced. "Yes, well--"

"I don't fucking care!" I shouted. I added a few Portuguese cuss words out of habit and fury. "You could've saved one hundred people from a lifetime of torture if you would've just let me go!"

He caught my arm as I went to hit him again. "You--you know why I won't do that, erm..."

My eyes burned. "Why can't you just say it, Jack!"

He roughly pushed me away. Everyone was watching us nervously, but I didn't care. "You've never said it either!" He yelled. He's never yelled at me before.

"You're supposed to say it first!" I screamed back.

"Fine! You know what?" Jack hissed. He seemed to get bigger, more intimidating, his hand gestures more jerky and frequent. I took a step back. "You can sleep with the crew tonight. You can go gallivanting after the whelp. I won't stop you." He spun around, fury radiating off him. "But I won't be here when you get back, either!"

Suddenly, it felt as if a load of bricks fell on top of me. I gaped at him for a moment, Then burst into tears and ran below decks to the cabin I had occupied before I started to sleep with Jack, I slammed the door, and leaned against it, sobbing.

I'd never cried like this, I was so ashamed. I wasn't supposed to show weakness. I was supposed to be a wall, an impenetrable and enigmatic wall, and this wasn't at all that. This was weak and broken.

I calmed down after a while and crawled numbly into the bed, missing Jack's warmth. I threw my effect away and fell into a dreamless sleep, my left hand curled into a fist around my mother's locket.